Chapter 64: Let me have a taste of the humiliation first...
Upon receiving the order, several maids immediately pushed Princess Guang'an into the huge royal tent from the left and right.
The king's tent was more spacious than it looked from the outside. There were animal fat lamps burning all around. The light and shadows floated around, and the tent was in chaos and ambiguity.
The brazier in the center was burning fiercely, but it couldn't dispel the turbid smell of leather, alcohol, and sweat.
In a daze, Princess Guang'an was pushed by a maid, she tripped and fell to the ground unexpectedly.
Her slender and delicate knees hit the animal skin rug hard, and she groaned in pain.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
A thunderous laugh exploded overhead.
"I heard that all the women in Wei are gentle and virtuous, but I didn't expect this princess to be a bit clumsy!"
Princess Guang'an was filled with shame and anger, but she did not dare to look up. She supported herself with her hands and tried to stand up tremblingly.
"Come, raise your head and let me see. You are not as beautiful as you are boasted by your Wei Kingdom." The Northern Emperor's voice was hoarse and low, and his tone was sarcastic.
Although Princess Guang'an was extremely reluctant, she also knew that her current situation was difficult. Due to the many years of education she had received in the Wei Palace, she was unwilling to lose her manners, so she endured the humiliation and slowly raised her head.
"Princess Guang'an of Wei, I greet the Emperor of the Northern Territory. I wish the Emperor good health and a long life."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and she forced herself to remain calm and performed standard Wei etiquette.
When she saw the emperor's true face, she couldn't help but tremble all over.
The Northern Emperor had a head of gray hair that looked like dry grass, and his face was full of wrinkles and ravines, like cracked earth.
The most terrifying thing was the pair of sunken eyes, which were glowing with a turbid yellow light, staring at her greedily, like a wolf that wanted to eat her alive.
He was fat and bloated, his face was gloomy, there was a hint of white foam hanging from the corners of his lips, and a smell of decay filled his face when he opened his mouth.
Princess Guang'an felt a chill coming over her, and her eyes instantly filled with tears that rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"Oh, look, you're already crying with excitement after just seeing me?"
The Northern Emperor sneered and gently stroked the armrest of the throne with his fingers, "Why are all women in your south so delicate?"
Princess Guang'an lowered her head, but she couldn't stop her tears, which fell silently on the thick plush blanket.
"I heard that the women of Wei are good at singing and dancing, and each of them can dance in a way that makes people enchanted."
The Emperor of the Northern Territory narrowed his cloudy eyes and smiled, "Then why don't you dance for me first?"
Princess Guang'an froze, "I, I'm not good at dancing, I'm afraid I might offend the emperor..."
"Not good at dancing?"
The Emperor of the Northern Territory frowned, and his expression suddenly turned gloomy.
"Then why did the State of Wei send you here? Did they just send a wooden man who can only cry?"
Princess Guang'an bit her lip, her vision blurred by tears, but she still tried to straighten her back, "I'm not a dancer, I can't dance..."
“Bold!”
The Northern Emperor slammed the armrest and shouted angrily.
All the strong men in the tent tightened their grip on their swords.
Princess Guang'an looked up in horror and saw seven or eight women dressed in northern costumes standing on both sides of the throne. They were all heavily made up and covered in gold, silver, pearls and jade, which jingled loudly.
The Emperor of the Northern Territory waved his hand and signaled to the concubines in gorgeous clothes, "In that case, then you guys go up and demonstrate to her what real dancing is!"
When the concubines heard this, their eyes suddenly turned and they walked to the center of the tent with charming manners.
They took off their fur cloaks, exposing their arms and legs, twisting their bodies, making all kinds of wanton gestures, spinning, swaying, and shaking to the beat of the drums played by the musicians beside them...
The unrestrained dancing and frivolous behavior were things Princess Guang'an had never heard of or seen before.
Princess Guang'an blushed with shame and turned her face away quickly, unable to bear to look at him.
When the concubines were dancing with great enthusiasm, they all reached out their hands to her, wanting to pull her to dance with them.
"No, I won't..."
Princess Guang'an was so frightened that she stepped back repeatedly, but was blocked by the cold-faced maid behind her.
The concubines gathered around her with sweet giggles and pulled at her arms.
"Come on, Princess, you have to learn well so that you can serve our Emperor well!"
"Stop pretending. Aren't all the women in the south seductive? Why are you pretending to be a chaste heroine?"
"Haha, that's right. If you can't learn it, you'll suffer tonight!"
The concubines pushed and pulled, causing Princess Guang'an's hair to become loose. A few strands of her hair fell on both sides of her cheeks, making her look even more pitiful.
“How hypocritical!”
The Emperor of the Northern Territory suddenly became furious, grabbed the silver wine cup beside him and threw it over.
The wine glass whizzed over and hit Princess Guang'an on the head, smashing her only remaining hair accessories into pieces.
The cold wine flowed down her cheeks and neck.
Princess Guang'an was hit so hard that she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string, unable to stop.
"You're so shy, do you really think you're some kind of royal bride?"
The Emperor of the Northern Territory sneered and pointed at her angrily, "Someone! Drag her here so I can take a good look at her!"
Four strong maids immediately rushed forward and dragged the princess towards the throne without saying a word.
Princess Guang'an was disheartened, her cheeks were wet with wine, her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were torn to pieces.
She was extremely desperate, knowing that this trip to the north would be a disaster...
The old emperor roughly pulled Princess Guang'an over and pressed her to sit on the animal skin cushion beside him. The animal fur pricked her delicate skin and caused pain, but she did not dare to struggle.
"Pour me some wine!"
He pointed at the golden cup and wine jug on the table and stared at her face like a hungry wolf.
Princess Guang'an gritted her teeth, picked up the heavy wine jug with trembling hands, and reluctantly filled a glass of wine for him.
The wine was as red as blood, and the strong smell hit her face. She couldn't help but frown slightly and turn her head away.
The Northern Emperor drank the liquor in the glass in one gulp, then grabbed a piece of bloody beef and stuffed it into his mouth. His face was covered in oil, and red juice dripped down his messy beard onto his clothes.
"Good wine! Good meat!"
His eyes were red and he shouted incoherently, his gaze wandering wantonly over Princess Guang'an. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and his voice became as loud as thunder.
"Today is the day I marry my new concubine, so we should drink to our heart's content!"
After that, he raised his cup and looked at everyone in the tent: "I am in a good mood today, and I want to reward the three armies! Brothers, join me, drink and eat meat to your heart's content!"
Everyone in the field cheered and drank, raising their glasses.
Some of them tilted their heads back to drink, others opened their mouths to tear meat, all like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.
Those usually majestic and powerful northern soldiers now looked like a group of irrational beasts, venting their desires wantonly.
The Northern Emperor was getting more and more excited, and he shouted again, "After we finish drinking, I have a reward! The group of young palace maids brought by the Princess of Wei are all very pretty, and they will all be given to you brothers tonight!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter, their greedy eyes were not concealed at all, and their gazes towards Princess Guang'an were full of malicious mockery.
"Long live the emperor!"
"Your Majesty is mighty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift!"
The crowd was shouting, wine glasses were clinking, pieces of meat were flying, and in the chaos, those northern women wearing fur coats twisted their bodies, dancing among the crowd in the most wanton postures, laughing and playing coquettishly.
Princess Guang'an felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. When she thought about the innocent palace maids who had followed her from thousands of miles away and were about to face horrible humiliation, she could no longer bear it and knelt down in grief at the feet of the Emperor of the Northern Territory.
"Your Majesty, please have mercy. Those palace maids are my concubine's dowry maids. They are still young and weak. Please have mercy on them..."
Her voice was choked with sobs, and tears rolled down her face, soaking the animal skin carpet.
"Oh, mercy?"
The Northern Emperor sneered and licked his greasy lips. "I can spare them."
Upon hearing this, Princess Guang'an looked up at the emperor in surprise, but the next moment, the emperor put his head close to her ear.
"Then you will replace them. How many maids do you have with you? Thirty? Fifty? Can you handle it?"
As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Princess Guang'an by the back of her neck, and pulled her towards him with his rough hands like iron clamps.
"Let me taste it first..."
His greasy face, reeking of alcohol, was getting closer and closer to her, his fishy breath sprayed on her face, and his thick lips pounced on her.
Princess Guang'an was horrified and desperate. She closed her eyes and bit her tongue tightly, wanting to die to show her determination...
Just when their lips were about to touch, a "whoosh" sound was heard!
A sharp sword flashing with cold light slashed through the king's tent and rushed straight to the throne at lightning speed!
As the sword passed by, a cold light flashed, and the head of the Northern Emperor fell off and rolled to the ground, with an expression of disbelief still in his wide-open eyes.
Before Princess Guang'an could react, she was embraced by a pair of strong arms into a warm and solid embrace.
"Liyue, don't be afraid."
This sound...
This is the voice she longed for...
Princess Guang'an opened her eyes, and through her tearful eyes, she seemed to see the handsome face that was deeply engraved in her heart.
"Shen, Shen Yunchao..."
She murmured, as if in a dream, and could not believe her eyes.
Shen Yunchao was dressed in black, looking heroic, his eyes full of shock and pain, he held her tightly to protect her.
Princess Guang'an threw herself into his arms, her sobbing tears soaking his lapel.
Suddenly, she looked behind him in horror and screamed, "Be careful!"
Several Northern Border guards, weapons in hand, roared and pounced on Shen Yunchao from behind.
Shen Yunchao's eyes turned cold, he turned around quickly and protected Princess Guang'an behind him, then swung his sword, the cold light was like a sword, and the guard in charge fell to the ground immediately.
"There's an assassin! There's an assassin! Hurry up and avenge the emperor!"
There was chaos in the tent. The drunk guards stumbled and drew their weapons, shouting as they surrounded Shen Yun.
At this critical moment, the sounds of fighting and screaming suddenly rang out outside the tent. The tent curtain was suddenly opened, and a team of dark guards in night clothes rushed in like ghosts, with sharp blades in their hands flying up and down, and instantly killed all the Northern guards.
The leading secret guard stepped forward quickly, clasped his fists and said, "General Shen, the time is almost up, quickly evacuate!"
"Thank you, Brother Xing Zhou."
Shen Yunchao turned around and picked up Princess Guang'an, "Let's go!"
Princess Guang'an clung to his shoulders tightly, staring in amazement at the corpses scattered all over the ground. She still felt as if she were in a dream and couldn't believe that she could escape from this devil's den.
Shen Yunchao hugged her tightly and rushed out of the king's tent. What came into his eyes was fire and fighting all over the sky.
The originally jubilant Northern Royal Court was now a sea of fire, with wailing and fleeing soldiers everywhere and chaos reigning.
A large number of cavalrymen in black armor galloped in the royal court, slashing and hacking at the drunken northern soldiers with sharp blades in their hands.
Princess Guang'an leaned on Shen Yunchao's shoulder and was surprised to see that the battle flags waved by the black-armored soldiers were embroidered with the emblem of the Great Yan Kingdom.
She looked at Shen Yunchao in horror.
"This, this is... the army of Yan State?"
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