Chapter 35

◎I have chosen you, are you willing?◎

Inside the Linde Hall.

The emperor's banquet was held in the center of the main hall. The empress was seated to the left in front, and the concubines were arranged behind her. Below the throne, civil and military officials were arranged in order of rank, facing each other from east to west. Xie Yutang, dressed in a black robe with a red collar, sat upright in the first position on the left side in front of the emperor, opposite the Northern Rong delegation.

The dancers in the hall wore wide-sleeved purple skirts and danced gracefully to the music of "Qing Shan Le," a piece that Xie Yutang and the Ministry of Rites had jointly decided on as the opening dance for the banquet, to symbolize the harmony and peace of the people of Da Yan.

The emperor was very satisfied with this arrangement, frequently raising his cup and chatting and laughing with the delegation. The ministers in the hall also raised their cups and drank together. For a time, the hall was filled with singing, dancing, and laughter.

Xie Yutang finished his drink, then glanced at a man in black robes at the banquet. Although the man was old, his posture and demeanor were different from the others, upright and dignified, clearly showing the air of a general honed in the military.

Prince Muqing, Su Chengyu.

What kind of father could bear to send his young son to the palace as a hostage, leaving him all alone and ignoring him for nearly ten years?

A few hours ago, the young man who knelt before the bed, his eyes lowered, washed his hands and wiped his face, had no trace of hostility between his brows. He was as serene and calm as a delicate landscape painting. Xie Yutang looked away, and after a long while, knowing that he shouldn't, he still spoke: "If you don't want to see him, I will block him for you."

The boy's fingers, which were twisting the handkerchief, paused slightly.

He was so perceptive; how could he not know what she meant?

With me here, even your father cannot bully you.

Su Lu remained silent for a long time, until the handkerchief in his hand lost its warmth and a slight chill stung his fingertips. He lowered his eyes and said softly, "The world is unaware of the intricacies of this matter. If this matter is brought up in the future, what will the master do?"

"They just called me arrogant and unreasonable." Xie Yutang didn't care. "Not only did you kidnap the young master of the Muqing Prince's Mansion to be his male concubine, but you also made him wash my hands and wipe my clothes, and serve me like a servant. You didn't even let him see his own father when he came. It's really inhuman and shameless."

She rattled off her story like a machine gun, without stopping, clearly having anticipated this all along.

Su Lu was amused. After a moment, she washed the handkerchief again in the water and carefully wiped the knuckles of her other hand. "Then the master probably won't have the chance to be the villain."

He said softly, without any emotion, "My father wouldn't even glance at me, let alone offer to meet with me."

Xie Yutang withdrew her gaze from Su Chengyu's face, her eyes slightly cold. At that time, she thought Su Lu's words were too absolute. She had already sent people to investigate all the young masters in the General's Mansion. None of them were promising. In terms of martial arts, talent, personality, and appearance, they were all completely crushed by Su Lu.

Ten years ago, that old man Su had poor eyesight; ten years later, she refused to believe he had no thoughts at all.

But now it seems she underestimated the old man's ruthlessness.

According to his subordinates' intelligence, Su Lu was once a favored prince. He was the young prince whose birth was celebrated with a ten-day, ten-night banquet by Su Chengyu, who was eager for the world to know about it. However, overnight, with the death of Madam Su, he became a superfluous and useless son in the general's mansion.

What exactly happened to Madam Su back then that made this old man so heartless?

"His Majesty."

A clear female voice was heard, and everyone turned to look. They saw a woman bowing to the emperor with clasped hands.

This woman, named Helou Wulan, was dressed in a Hu-style dress with narrow sleeves, leather boots, and a velvet hat. With her red lips and ochre cheeks, she looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She was surrounded by the Northern Rong envoys, which shows her status.

Sitting next to Helou Wulan was Tuoba Xiu, the most promising prince of Beirong to inherit the throne, and also the head of this delegation. Both of them were consistent with her memories from her previous life, but the others... Xie Yutang's gaze swept over the members of the delegation one by one, and paused slightly on a scarred, burly man, "General Liefeng" Ashan. This man was a once-in-a-century archery genius of Beirong. He became famous in one battle for shooting eight enemy soldiers with a single arrow and was highly valued by the emperor of Beirong. Su Chengyu had faced him once on the battlefield and was injured in the left shoulder. His left arm still cannot move normally.

But that wasn't what Xie Yutang cared about so much. What she cared about was that this person wasn't part of the delegation in his previous life.

She had handled the delegation lists in both her past and present lives, and Xie Yutang discovered a problem when checking the lists: apart from Helou Wulan and Tuoba Xiu, a considerable number of people on the lists were different from those in her previous life, and there were also more people on the lists.

Why is this the case?

Was it a coincidence? Or was it because... she ousted Lin Tan to become the escort envoy herself, changing history and triggering a series of uncontrollable changes?

After Helou Wulan finished calling out "Your Majesty," she stood up from her seat. Xie Yutang's eyelids twitched as she walked to the center of the hall and bowed gracefully to the emperor: "The dances and music of the Central Plains are indeed magnificent and moving, but I have heard that when Emperor Chengzu founded the country, he summarized the previous dynasties and said that if a country is valued for literature and neglects military affairs, it will surely perish. Thus, the ancestral precept of the Great Yan Dynasty was established that literature should not be valued and military affairs should not be neglected."

"We are ashamed to admit our inferiority in academic papers, but when it comes to martial arts, our Northern Rong warriors are all valiant and skilled in battle. The atmosphere is just right today, so why don't we have a friendly spar right here in the hall?"

He Louwulan spoke casually, as if it were just a whim, but every word hit the nail on the head. He even brought up the ancestral teachings of Emperor Chengzu. If Dayan refused, it would be a betrayal of tradition and a betrayal of its ancestors, and the country would be doomed.

"Ulan is right."

Tuoba Xiu bowed to the emperor from afar and followed, saying, "I have heard that the Great Yan is full of talented people, and there are many masters in the field of martial arts. Before I left, my father specifically instructed me to be humble and learn from the masters of the Great Yan on this journey." Before the emperor could answer, Tuoba Xiu turned his head and said, "Ashan."

The burly man with the scar stepped forward in response. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Tuoba Xiu and then bowed to the emperor. He was very courteous to the former, but his bow to the latter was extremely perfunctory, clearly showing that he did not take the emperor of Da Yan seriously.

The crowd exchanged glances, and the hall fell into an eerie silence. Some ministers with weaker mental fortitude broke out in a cold sweat.

"You've all probably heard of General Ashan's name. He won ten battles in a row and was about to press his advantage when the Emperor issued an edict to recall him. That's when he learned that our two countries had ceased hostilities and sought peace. Although Ashan was happy, a martial man is always unwilling to accept defeat until a real victory is achieved. He was holding his breath and told me that he was eager to try his luck because he saw many military generals in the palace today and many skilled guards in front of the Emperor."

Tuoba Xiu paused slightly, then raised his voice and said, "Only strength can conquer the warriors of our Northern Rong. I wonder if Your Majesty could give Ashan a chance to learn a thing or two from the experts of your dynasty?"

Inside the hall, you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone realized that the Northern Rong delegation had clearly come prepared.

After the Xie family's downfall, only the Su family remained capable of fighting on the border. However, the younger generation of the Su family were barely passable in horsemanship and warfare, lacking any generalship talent. They were no match for a seasoned general like A-Shan, who had fought in real battles. As Su Chengyu grew older, the border problems in Dayan were bound to become increasingly severe.

This so-called peace talks and trade negotiations between the two countries are in reality a unilateral concession of interests by Yanzhou. This welcome banquet is nothing more than the last fig leaf for Yanzhou's self-proclaimed status as a superior nation.

Now, it's clear that the Northern Rong are going to tear off this fig leaf.

The emperor's smile vanished, and his expression darkened.

Song Zhen, observing the situation, chuckled awkwardly and was about to step in to smooth things over when the emperor glared at him and sent him back to his seat.

"Distinguished guests have come from afar. Since you have such refined tastes, I grant your request." The Emperor glanced at the crowd below the stage and smiled. "My dear ministers, who would like to step forward and compete?"

Everyone understood the emperor's meaning.

They've already stepped on your face; if you still back down, you're just a coward.

But no one dared to meet the emperor's gaze.

General Ashan's name was already well-known in the officialdom of Yanzhou. Even Su Chengyu had suffered a loss against him, so it was impossible for anyone else to defeat him.

Losing in a "sparring match" is no different from tearing up a fig leaf and throwing it in the emperor's face.

There aren't enough heads on your head to go around.

The civil and military officials looked at each other, and finally, they all secretly turned their gazes to the third table to the right of the emperor.

The Su family's seats.

The silence and the gazes of the crowd wove together a fine net, casting an invisible but immense pressure over the place.

A young man in black pursed his lips, made up his mind, and suddenly stood up, only to be quickly and firmly pressed back into his seat by Su Chengyu.

Su Chengyu sighed inwardly. This battle was probably unavoidable for the Su clan. He was prepared to risk his life and was about to respond in a deep voice when a clear female voice suddenly came from the head of the table.

“Father, our distinguished guests from the Northern Rong have also said that they are interested in a friendly spar. If they send out General Ashan, who is a veteran of many battles, and we also send our generals to fight, how would that be any different from actually going to the battlefield? Our welcoming banquet today is for the peace between our two countries, not for fighting and killing. In my opinion, any competition or sparring should be conducted in a peaceful manner and should stop when the point is reached.”

"The guards in my household are all quite skilled in martial arts. How about I choose one of them to spar with General Ashan?"

Xie Yutang spoke calmly and patiently, but the expressions on the faces of the Northern Rong delegation members were not very pleasant.

Ashan is one of the top martial arts prodigies in Beirong. Even Su Chengyu doesn't dare to be careless. This little girl is so arrogant that she dares to compete with them by just picking a guard from the mansion.

"What a brilliant move, using minimal force to achieve maximum effect."

He Lou Wulan narrowed her eyes, her gaze towards Xie Yutang becoming more thoughtful.

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Xiu turned his head and heard Helou Wulan say, "Sending an unknown guard to fight is not a big deal if we lose, but if we win, we will lose face."

Tuoba Xiu was startled.

Ashan's reputation is too great. If he wins, everyone will just think it's expected. But if Dayan sends an unknown soldier, at best it shows they value peace and don't care about winning or losing; at worst, it shows the magnanimity of a great nation. Not to mention, if Ashan loses, their Northern Rong generals won't even be able to defeat a mere guard from the Dayan princess's residence. How humiliating that would be! Ashan would be inferior even before the battle begins.

With a few words, he effortlessly dismantled their carefully laid trap, leaving them speechless.

There is such a formidable woman in the court of Da Yan.

"Ning'an is such a protective girl; even on such a grand occasion, she doesn't forget to push her own people forward." The Empress and the Emperor exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of amusement in each other's eyes, presumably understanding the situation. The Empress smiled and said reproachfully, "Tell me, who are you going to push forward?"

Xie Yutang then knew that this meant consent.

She smiled slightly and looked at the boy who had been standing silently behind her seat.

Civil and military officials, imperial relatives, and foreign envoys—everyone in the Linde Hall looked up at the sound.

The girl's voice was clear and bright, her pronunciation distinct, and her words echoed in every corner of the hall.

“Su Lu”.

"I have chosen you, are you willing?"