"Empress, you are of noble birth.
The blades are blind, so this dangerous matter is best left to me."
Facing the new Emperor's solicitous concern, Leng Ningyue replied with the same words as before:
"No need, I'll do it myself."
In the banquet hall.
Prince Xiang looked with amusement at the person beside him, a smile curving his lips, and said:
"What, Brother Lin also wishes to act rashly for a beauty?
But worry not, Brother Lin, I have some acquaintance with that Eastern Ying Crown Prince. Even if Eastern Ying ultimately wins, I can put in a word.
As long as there are sufficiently attractive stakes, that Eastern Ying Crown Prince might not mind parting with her reluctantly."
This time, Lin Yan did not remain silent, but instead squinted and said:
"That Eastern Ying Crown Prince acts erratically. When did you establish contact with him?"
"Brother Lin, when I established contact with the Eastern Ying Crown Prince is not important. What's important is that having one more friend means one more path."
"I advise you to stay far from that Eastern Ying Crown Prince, lest you invite disaster upon yourself."
Having said this in a low voice, Lin Yan fell silent.
But Prince Xiang shrugged dismissively, as if he had not taken the advice to heart.
On the other side.
On a loft separated from the banquet hall by only a wall, a table was set up. Not only were the same dishes from the banquet laid out on the table, but there were also two jars of Jade Dew Nectar, not available at the banquet.
Two figures, one white and one purple, were seated by the table, sipping wine.
Looking down from the open window beside them, the entire banquet venue was laid out before them.
"I say, Rong San, a soldier is trained for a thousand days for one moment of use. Brother Lin is about to enter the fray himself, why aren't you going to protect him?"
"Bai Er, have you gotten drunk already?
With the Empress present, where would my protection be needed?
Let alone protection, given the Empress's ruthlessness, she might even find you later to collect the bodies of that Eastern Ying delegation."
"Collecting bodies is simple. I happen to have a packet of corpse powder here. Just sprinkle it down, and I guarantee it'll be clean, leaving no trace."
"Bai Er, you must truly be drunk.
If you're asked to collect bodies, and you reduce them to nothing, how will Brother Lin explain to Eastern Ying then?"
"Hmph, a mere small country, what is there to explain?
Hasn't Xiao Zhanbei returned?
After all, whether it's to destroy one or destroy two, it's still destruction. Let our Great Xia's God of War make another trip and destroy that Eastern Ying country.
It'll save them from running around and hopping about pointlessly, which is quite irritating."
"Tsk tsk tsk, these Eastern Ying fellows really don't know their place. Who better to offend than our Prince Bai.
Do you know that the grass on the walls of those unfortunate souls who angered Prince Bai has already grown to the roof?"
"Who offended me? I simply find them displeasing."
Murong Bai said, raising his wine cup.
But as he brought it to his lips, he discovered that the wine in the cup had already been finished.
Seeing this, Hua Jinrong, opposite him, stopped fanning himself, personally picked up the wine pot to refill Murong Bai's cup, and nodded in agreement:
"That's right, that's right, our Bai Er simply finds those Eastern Ying people who dare to have designs on his sister displeasing to the eye."
Slighted, Murong Bai rolled his eyes towards the sky in an ungraceful manner, only to hear Hua Jinrong say something out of the blue:
"They say, 'To die under the peony is to be romantic even as a ghost.' If I had seen this half a day earlier, I would have agreed even at the cost of being hunted by the Empress."
"Agreed to what?"
Murong Bai inquired, but found that Hua Jinrong had already put down the wine pot and was getting up to leave.
"Rong San, where are you going?"
"I've drunk too much, I'm going out for some air."
Upon hearing this, Murong Bai glanced at the wine cup opposite him, which had been crushed to powder the moment he heard the Eastern Ying Crown Prince sought to marry Princess Changle, and snorted disdainfully:
"Hmph, the pot calling the kettle black!
However, now that the madman Rong San has been provoked, Eastern Ying's good days are truly over."
At the same time.
In the banquet hall, the Empress, clad in red, descended from the high platform like a butterfly with wings spread.
Her swift and elegant movements stunned everyone present.
"Siyun, quickly pinch me?"
"Ow, that hurt!"
Yongning Princess, grimacing from the pinch, stared at the red figure and murmured:
"Siyun, the Empress is indeed Madam, right?"
Unlike before, Yongning Princess's tone was exceptionally certain, even though she asked it as a question.
After all, throughout the Great Xia, no one else could be found who possessed such suffocating strength as Madam.
"Madam, no, Empress,加油! Kill those Eastern Ying bastards!
Long live Empress, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand thousand years!"
"Princess, composure!"
Meanwhile, the Eastern Ying Crown Prince, smiling, bowed and introduced:
"Greetings, Empress.
This is Eastern Ying's foremost sword master, Saito Ichi.
For the sake of fairness, Empress may use this peerless divine weapon presented by Eastern Ying."
Leng Ningyue took the sword, her index and middle fingers clamping the blade. With a slight exertion of force, the so-called peerless divine weapon was actually broken into two pieces by her!
Casually tossing the broken blade aside like trash, Leng Ningyue said four words expressionlessly:
"Nothing special."
"Baga yaro!"
Seeing the treasured sword, symbolizing Eastern Ying, destroyed, Saito Ichi, Eastern Ying's foremost sword master, immediately roared and drew his sword to slash at Leng Ningyue.
Leng Ningyue sidestepped to avoid the attack while simultaneously drawing a hairpin from her hair.
Her middle finger bent slightly, and the hairpin shot out like an arrow, heading straight for the observing Eastern Ying Crown Prince, but it was caught by the latter, who was prepared.
"Empress is indeed more than just a little mischievous.
I've heard that in Great Xia, a man giving a woman a hairpin signifies admiration. I wonder what the implication is when a woman gives a man a hairpin?
Could it be that the Empress finds palace life too boring and wishes to travel to Eastern Ying with me?"
The Eastern Ying Crown Prince did not intentionally lower his voice. Although his voice was not loud, it reached the new Emperor's ears clearly, enraging him. The new Emperor, feeling utterly humiliated, immediately shouted:
"How dare you!"
As if mere verbal warning was not enough to vent his anger, the new Emperor drew the soft sword from his waist, ready to charge down and compete with the unrestrained Eastern Ying Crown Prince.
However, before the new Emperor could make a move, a figure clad in dark purple descended from the sky.
"It's rare for the Eastern Ying Crown Prince to have such refined taste. I too would like to exchange a few moves."
With that, the person's folding fan snapped shut, its tip aimed directly at the Eastern Ying Crown Prince's throat.
The Eastern Ying Crown Prince dodged to the side. Leng Ningyue, who had just broken free from Saito Ichi with a feint, was waiting there. She raised her hand and threw three hairpins.
Because the hairpins were too fast and the angles of attack were too刁钻,
The Eastern Ying Crown Prince managed to dodge two, but the remaining one directly pierced his left shoulder.
Immediately after, a strong gust of wind attacked from behind.
The Eastern Ying Crown Prince dodged with difficulty but was severely grazed on his back by the folding fan, which had transformed into a sharp feather blade at its tip at some unknown time.
Instantly, blood poured out.
While some of the female guests closed their eyes, terrified by the gory scene, Yongning Princess clapped her hands and cheered:
"Well done, Master Hua!
Master Hua, slice him to death for this princess!
This princess has found this yin-yang-moutan fellow displeasing for a long time!
Yes, just like that!
Don't hold back, just do it!
Master Hua, don't go limp, hurry, hurry and cut him!
No, I mean Hua Banke, can't you be a little more persistent?
It's not even half an hour yet, and you're already done for?!"