Surrounded by mocking and puzzled stares, Jiang Wantang remained perfectly calm and composed.
Her eyes met Dongfang Mo’s, and he gave her a small nod.
Was there… a hint of encouragement in his gaze?
Jiang Wantang shook her head, quickly brushing that absurd thought aside.
Thump! Thump! Thump! A rhythmic beat of gongs and drums began, and the lion figure Jiang Wantang portrayed swayed its head in time with the music.
With a slight turn of her wrists, she controlled the wooden frame of the lion’s head; its gilded eyes blinked in time with each drumbeat, as if the creature had truly come alive.
Clang thump, clang! The tempo suddenly quickened, and the lion leaped onto a row of wooden stakes.
Beneath its paws, those slender, narrow posts felt as steady as solid ground. The vivid red lion turned, twisted, and bounded from one stake to the next in perfect rhythm.
In an instant, everyone in the hall was completely captivated.
The lively music, the fluid grace of the lion it felt as though they were watching the brilliant fireworks and festive bustle of the city streets during New Year celebrations. This was exactly what peace and prosperity looked like!
With one final, heavy strike of the drum, Jiang Wantang brought the performance to a steady, flawless end.
“Bravo!” Someone started the applause, and in a heartbeat, the entire hall erupted in thunderous cheers.
Jiang Wantang removed the lion’s headpiece and slipped out of the costume, then bowed deeply to all sides.
She was glistening with sweat, her forehead shining, yet a bright smile still lingered on her face.
She felt genuinely happy.
The art of lion dance had been forced upon her by her mother as a way to earn money performing on the streets but over time, she had grown to truly love it. Hiding herself inside the lion’s head, listening to the laughter and joy of ordinary people, had also become its own kind of happiness.
“Well?” Dongfang Mo asked the Holy Maiden of Southern Border.
Her face turned pale with fury. “Consort Xi’s skill is truly extraordinary.”
With the whole room cheering and applauding, she could hardly say otherwise. Humiliated, she turned and swept back to her seat.
Jiang Wantang also bowed and returned to her place.
The moment she sat down, Pei Xue seized her hand in excitement. “How did you dance the lion so wonderfully? I thought for a moment a real spirit lion had come to life!” Her eyes shone with admiration.
Jiang Wantang gave a brief explanation, then glanced around. “Why have Yi Yi and the others not returned yet?”
It had taken far longer than necessary just to visit the restroom, and a faint sense of unease began to grow in her heart.
“Qinghe is with them,” Pei Xue reassured her. “There is no need to worry. With it being a state banquet, the palace guards are everywhere. Children often find these stuffy halls too confining they may have simply wandered off to play somewhere.”
Still, Jiang Wantang could not shake her concern. She decided to change her clothes and go look for them herself.
Her inner garments were already damp with sweat, so she hurried to a side chamber to freshen up and avoid appearing disheveled before the court.
With the performances over, it was time for the presentation of tribute.
“Today, our Southern Border brings modest offerings to present to Your Majesty: one piece of fine white Hetian jade, eighty pelts of Kucha lambskin, eighty bolts of Adras silk, one hundred jars of vintage grape wine, and several chests of preserved fruits and delicacies.”
As the envoy spoke, one chest after another was carried into the hall. The palace attendants opened them, revealing the rich gifts inside.
The ministers of Great Xia nodded in approval, satisfied by this show of loyalty.
“What tribute is that man holding? Why has it not been opened?”
One of the Southern Border envoys held a small wooden box in his hands, which remained closed.
“Your Majesty, this offering has been prepared especially for you.”
Chief Eunuch Li took the box and placed it on the table before Dongfang Mo.
When the lid was lifted, two hair ornaments came into view: one was a small gold-and-jade hairpin, and the other a dark jade hair stick.
Dongfang Mo picked up the gold-and-jade pin, and as a thought struck him, he glanced toward the section where the imperial consorts sat.
Yi Yi was not there.
His expression instantly turned cold. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Your Majesty, please do not be alarmed. Have the Prime Minister also look upon these gifts.”
Hearing this, Prime Minister Lu Zhao stepped forward. When he saw the dark jade hair stick, his face went ashen.
“This this is Chuan’er’s hairpin! What is the meaning of this, you people of Southern Border?!”
Lu Zhao turned the stick over and over in his hands, certain beyond doubt that it belonged to Lu Jingchuan. He had personally chosen it as a birthday gift for his son, and he would never mistake it.
As Lu Zhao began to lose control, the guards quickly stepped in to restrain him.
The court officials were confused. Why would the Emperor and Prime Minister react as if they were ready to kill someone over two hair ornaments? And when the Prime Minister shouted “Chuan’er,” could it possibly mean…
“Southern Border was defeated in war years ago. Do you dare to stir up trouble again?!”
Dongfang Mo rose to his feet, his eyes cold and empty, as if looking down upon a man already condemned to death.
“Speak! Where have you taken Yi Yi and Lu Jingchuan?!”
In the blink of an eye, he was standing directly before the Southern Border envoy, the tip of his sword pressed against the man’s throat.
“If you kill me, she will die as well.”
After a long pause, Dongfang Mo gritted his teeth and slowly withdrew the blade. “Name your terms.”
“Simple. Have Your Majesty sign this document of surrender, and from this day forward, Great Xia shall pay tribute to Southern Border every year.”
With this plan, they would conquer Great Xia without firing a single arrow.
The words were barely spoken before the court erupted in fury.
“Bah! You treacherous dogs of Southern Border! How dare you threaten Great Xia? Have you forgotten how thoroughly we crushed you ten years ago?!”
“Crushed us? Great Xia only barely won that battle. Your mighty general Duan Guihong was left crippled in both legs!”
“…”
“Silence!” Dongfang Mo’s voice cut through the uproar.
The hall fell instantly quiet.
Dongfang Mo’s brow was furrowed so tightly it seemed it could crush a fly. Never before had the officials seen him look so torn and conflicted.
Lu Zhao stood frozen, clutching the dark jade hair stick in a daze.
When the news reached Pei Xue and Jiang Wantang, it struck them like a bolt of lightning.
“It is all my fault,” Pei Xue sobbed, collapsing into Jiang Wantang’s arms. “I should have listened to you and gone to look for them earlier. These vile, rotten creatures!”
Though Jiang Wantang appeared calm on the surface, inside she felt as though her world was crumbling.
“Your Majesty, you must not give in to their demands!” The ministers dropped to their knees, begging him not to sign the surrender.
Dongfang Mo held a brush, hovering it over the parchment.
A heavy, unnatural silence settled over the banquet hall.
Whoosh.
A sudden sharp sound cut through the air. Dongfang Mo moved like lightning, appearing in an instant beside the Southern Border Holy Maiden.
His sword pierced her throat. She stared at him in wide-eyed horror before collapsing without a sound.
“All of you will die with her.” His gaze was dark and terrifying, like that of the King of Hell himself.
From the very beginning, there had only ever been one answer: no.
Signing the surrender would not make the enemy show mercy.
Dongfang Mo’s sword moved in a blur, and one Southern Border envoy after another fell, their blood staining the floor of the hall.
He had to work fast the sooner he finished, the sooner he could find Yi Yi and Lu Jingchuan.
He was consumed by cold, relentless fury.
The civil officials and court ladies stood frozen, terrified by the sight of such ruthless violence; the military officers, however, felt their own blood begin to burn.
In barely a quarter of an hour, every Southern Border envoy lay dead. Their bodies were dragged away to be identified and questioned.
“Ha ha ha! Then you can go and collect your Princess’s corpse!”
Dongfang Mo sheathed his sword, not even glancing back as he snapped, “Drag him out!”
“Father, I’m right here~”
A soft, childish voice rang out unexpectedly.
Everyone looked up, and saw two round, rosy-cheeked little figures come running into the hall.