novelraw Chapter 819 - 797: Who Am I
Chapter 819 - 797: Who Am I
After the High Priest received the letter from the Eldest Princess, he used the excuse of needing to verify it and did not linger at the banquet. The King of Sannan said, "In those years, the Eldest Princess left for Beining due to internal conflicts in Sannan. She was still young, and didn’t leave much writing behind. The High Priest is diligent in his work and needs to verify the handwriting and letter thoroughly. Please understand, Prince Yan."
"It doesn’t matter!" Xie Jue was unconcerned, his thoughts still on the letter left by the Marquis, filled with fatherly affection. Although loyal to the emperor, his father also loved his sons. Back then, he didn’t want him to return to Ningzhou for help because Emperor Jianming did not exhibit the behavior of killing the cunning hare and cooking the hound. Naturally, the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion also wanted to maintain each other’s dignity. But if the Yuwen Dynasty truly betrays them, his father hoped that his sons could escape disaster and live peacefully, even if it meant coming to Sannan.
"I frequently exchanged letters with the Marquis. The Yuwen Dynasty repeatedly disrupted the supplies, all advised and strategized by us from Sannan. The Sannan Royal Family has always maintained close relations with the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. I’m sure Prince Yan, you have sensed that. Back then, the Marquis transferred half of his estate to Sannan for fear that one day his descendants would be unable to live in Yuwen. Though the assets seemed to belong to the Su Family’s Trading House, I know, the true owner is Marquis Zhenbei. All these years, neither the Princely Heir nor I have coveted this wealth, waiting for it to return to its rightful owner. Our decision to wage war on the twelve states was spontaneous and, admittedly, ambitious, in our desire for the fertile lands of Jiangnan. I solemnly apologize to those soldiers who died on the battlefield."
"Will apologies bring them back to life? Countless soldiers died in Sannan’s poisonous arrays, and many others had their health ruined by the poison, needing to rely on medicine for life, bedridden and suffering. Not only they are tormented, but also their families. Can your light apology make up for everything?" Fang Chuning would not accept the King of Sannan’s attempt to garner pity, "Of course, you might talk about compensation, but how much can you possibly compensate to offset a lifetime of suffering?"
The whole room fell silent.
The King of Sannan’s face turned crimson with embarrassment, and Han Ziqi said, "What’s done is done, the grave mistake has been made, and we can only strive to make amends. General Fang, this is the essence of negotiation."
Xie Jue nodded in agreement with Han Ziqi’s words, "Indeed, this is why I came to Sannan. Not to entangle myself with lineage disputes or to seize anyone’s throne. I came for the spirits unfairly lost on the battlefield. Tonight, is the King of Sannan hosting a banquet to welcome us, or does he wish to proceed directly to business?"
"No rush, no rush, Prince Yan is already in Sannan, there’s no need to hurry just yet. Tonight, the Sannan Royal Family welcomes your delegation with a banquet. Let’s enjoy until we’re drunk, and discuss the negotiations tomorrow, shall we?"
"Alright!" Xie Jue agreed readily, not making things difficult, while Fang Chuning muttered quietly, "This King of Sannan has no real intention to negotiate, but he’s good at playing pitiful."
"I know!" Xie Jue had also seen through the King of Sannan’s ploy, saying he could relinquish the Sannan throne as if it were a treasure, but Xie Jue couldn’t care less.
Halfway through the banquet, the King of Sannan announced that he had prepared a special dance performance to welcome the delegation.
It’s common for banquets to feature music and dance, appreciated by scholars and refined guests who love to watch Jiangnan’s enchanting and captivating performances. The ensemble consisted mainly of pipa and qin tunes, occasionally accompanied by the flute. The music was soft and lingering, as over ten dancers entered slowly wearing golden veils, barefoot and draped in red silk, their slender waists adorned with golden bells, their water-red dresses accentuating their snow-white skin, ethereal and graceful.
The dance was Jiangnan’s most famous Drunken Immortal Dance, with its varied and nimble movements. Though the dancers veiled their faces, their enchanting eyes sliced like silk. Especially the lead dancer, whose veil could not conceal her striking beauty, with ornamental patterns between her brows as vivid as peach and plum.
The delegation, mostly composed of young, fiery men hardened by years of warfare, could not resist the allure and watched transfixed, except for Fang Chuning, who drank with a face cold as frost.
Xie Jue glanced at him playfully and asked, "How does this compare to the performances at Chunfeng House?"
"A dance specially for Prince Yan, how can Chunfeng House compare?" Fang Chuning’s tone was even sarcastic, a subtle mockery. Xie Jue suppressed a grin, "It is intended for the delegation, not specifically for Prince Yan."
"Sima Zhao’s intentions are known to all." Fang Chuning scoffed, "The Princely Heir is completely oblivious, clearly seeing through our relationship yet arranging such a performance without fear of offending me."
"Offending you is better than offending the King of Sannan." Xie Jue’s tone was calm. The lead dancer was Sannan’s Princess X, only sixteen, unmarried, with a beauty acclaimed as the most beautiful in Sannan.
Mudan City is famous for its beautiful women, and this Princess X is celebrated beyond compare, the talk of Mudan City.
In Beining, women from noble families are strictly regulated, and dancing in public is a great disgrace, something only singers and dancers would do, not fitting for a princess. In Sannan, however, such rules don’t exist, but regardless of the lack of rules, a princess performing at a banquet for foreign men isn’t motivated by purity—it is simply an insult to the princess.
Though Sannan and Beining were once one, women’s status in Sannan is far inferior to that in Beining.
In the Beining Capital, the status of noble wives and daughters is very high, not inferior to the men in their families, but in Sannan, women respect their husbands, and their sons, kept cloistered, ignorant of the world, and powerless to defy their fathers’ and brothers’ orders. It’s a patriarchal Sannan.
In the past, when only the Eldest Princess remained among the direct descendants, the ministers refused to serve under a female sovereign, leading to rebellion. The Eldest Princess knew she had no future in Sannan, so she fled to Beining.
The dance ended with the sound of jingling gold, soft and lingering, and the King of Sannan was greatly pleased, rewarding them generously. Princess X removed her veil, revealing her captivating face.
Many in attendance were stunned by her beauty, and even a few young soldiers in the delegation remarked on Princess X’s looks.
Princess X giggled as she curtsied to the King of Sannan, who was very pleased with his daughter’s performance and awarded her a seat, right next to Xie Jue. Xie Jue kept a cool composure as Princess X approached, her fragrance drifting by, graceful like a Jiangnan lady from a book, as delicate as willows in the breeze, with a face like peach blossoms.
"Lingling greets Cousin, blessings to Cousin." Princess X greeted Xie Jue sweetly.
Xie Jue replied indifferently, "Princess, please do not claim kinship. My identity is still in question, I am not your cousin!"
Princess X was momentarily stunned, having lived her life in Sannan and never leaving the palace, in her mind Sannan was the whole world, and the royal family the most noble existence. How could anyone deny royal identity?
"Father said you are, so you are!" Princess X quickly responded, undaunted by Xie Jue’s aura.
Xie Jue coldly said, "Who I am, is for me to decide!"