Chapter 44 Meeting Gift
The Dali envoys who had visited the Prince of Yan's mansion returned in dismay, escorted politely by General Zuo. Meanwhile, at Bianliang Duting Posthouse, Yelü Huishi, the second son of the Northern Liao emperor, accompanied by two tall Liao warriors, pushed open the door and strode into an elegantly decorated room filled with burning spices.
Although both are places where foreign envoys live, Dutingyi is obviously more independent and larger than other central guesthouses. Naturally, only the powerful Northern Liao can live here.
"The queen has taken An Duan to Heishan to prepare for the sacrifice." said the man in leather armor following behind Yelu Huishi.
He spoke Northern Liao dialect, and his sentences were difficult to understand, but it was not difficult to hear the indignation in it.
Black Mountain was sacred to the Liao people, and the Black Mountain God presided over their souls. Every winter, the emperor and his ministers would burn the mountain in sacrifice. Thus, even if a Liao person died and their body was thousands of miles away, their soul would return to the Black Mountain God's protection, accompanied by the sound of sacrificial drums and a white horse and sheep.
In previous years, Crown Prince Yelü Chongya would accompany the Emperor at such a grand and solemn sacrificial ceremony. However, this year, Empress Duo Yueli actually sent her youngest son Yelü Anduan along.
"Nothing strange." Yelu Huishi's face was deep, his features hard and cold. Upon hearing this, his brown eyes flashed with disdain. He casually pulled out a dagger from his side and threw it, knocking over the incense burner in the corner that was emitting curling fragrance.
Yelu Huishi was a traditional Liao man who was not used to the sweet and soft spices commonly used by people in Tianshui.
Compared to the Tianshui, women in Northern Liao, like men, were expected to herd cattle and sheep. Unencumbered by the strict rules of female virtue, they were known for their unbridled and unrestrained character. Empress Duoyueli of Northern Liao, hailing from the Diele tribe, came from a powerful family. In her early years, she accompanied her father and brothers on the campaigns, and after marrying the emperor, she followed him into battle. Her valor and ruthlessness earned her high prestige within Northern Liao. She and the emperor bore three sons, of whom she favored the youngest, Yelü Anduan, and the Crown Prince, Yelü Chongya, the least favored. The Crown Prince, despite his gentle disposition, was perceived as weak, and she persistently sought to persuade the emperor to re-elect him.
Yelu Huishi was the second child, neither older nor younger, and was not valued by his mother. He continued to stride forward, raising his hand to push aside layer after layer of curtains, sneering, "For An Duan, this isn't the first time she's offended Chongya."
There has never been a precedent where the emperor and the crown prince were offering sacrifices with a prince following them.
When the last layer of curtain was lifted, Yelu Huishi's gaze naturally swept forward and inadvertently fell on the desk beside the bed.
His expression suddenly changed, and the two strong men behind him drew their swords, took a few steps forward to protect Yelu Huishi behind them, and looked vigilantly at a mahogany box that appeared on the table at some point.
The mahogany box was bright in color and had a smooth texture, a wood that was clearly valuable. Inside the box was a soft, white silk cloth, on which lay three shriveled pieces of meat neatly arranged.
The room was very quiet, the windows were closed, and there was no one else in the room except the three people.
A man stepped forward, carefully picked up a piece of meat with the tip of his knife, looked at it, and said hesitantly, "...What is this?"
Yelu Huishi's cold gaze swept across the completely enclosed room, finally settling on the area beneath the box. A beige corner of the crimson wooden box peeked out, as if a piece of paper was pressed underneath.
He pushed aside the person blocking his way and stepped forward to pull out the paper underneath. On the paper was a row of neatly written characters, not Tianshui characters, but Liao characters.
Yelu Huishi glanced at the paper and his expression instantly turned grim: "...tongue."
It was the tongue of the man he had sent to Bianliang earlier.
The expressions of the two people beside him changed.
The three tongues had been removed a long time ago, and the edges of the ends had been smeared with lime powder, causing the dehydrated tissue to sag and become shrunken pieces of flesh. Otherwise, the tongues were in excellent condition, with no odor and a strangely sweet aroma.
When Yelu Huishi sensed the fragrance, his expression became even uglier.
He had just noticed that the incense in the room today was particularly strong, with a strange sweetness, but he didn't think much of it, simply assuming it was emanating from the incense burner in front. There had been no news from those men, and Yelu Huishi had only assumed they had failed in negotiations and been detained, not that they had actually been killed.
Yelu Huishi's facial muscles twitched a few times, and his chest rose and fell. He suddenly snatched the knife from someone's hand and slammed the wooden box into the ground, making a dull sound.
"Is he warning me?" Yelu Huishi gritted his teeth. "Or is he threatening me?! This bastard from the Wanyan tribe who grew up in Tianshui dares to threaten me?!"
The area around Dutingyi was already filled with Northern Liao experts. When this box appeared on Yelu Huishi's desk, no one noticed it. How could this not be a warning or threat?
One man continued to survey the room warily, while another advised, "Yelü Duhan is cunning, like a wolf. The Emperor said he must return with us this time. We'll inevitably have to come into contact with them, so it's best to avoid conflict."
Unlike Yelu Huishi, this person had previously come into contact with the secret service arrangements in Shangjing, and knew that the emperor's second son had gone to Tianshui Bianliang in his early years and took over the secret agents there.
Then Northern Liao lost contact with Bianliang.
For years, the other party had maintained a cold attitude, disregarding Northern Liao's orders, and even helping Tianshui eliminate new spies, practically achieving dominance. If it weren't for the occasional critical intelligence reports, many would have suspected that the Second Prince, who never returned, had defected to Tianshui.
In short, he is definitely not a simple person.
They should have met with such a person in person after arriving in Bianliang. However, the Wanyan tribe had long been annexed, and Yelu Huishi looked down on this exiled brother. Sending a few small soldiers to meet him was a rather rude and provocative act. Anyone with a bit of temper would have been displeased, but they hadn't expected such a clean and efficient method, to kill him directly.
The man continued to persuade him, "After all, we are in Bianliang, not in Shangjing, and there is a lot to do. Yelu Duhan should be a helper, not an opponent. Let's go and meet him tonight."
Under the persuasion of the man named Agu, Yelu Huishi finally calmed down.
He asked someone to collect the dried tongue that fell on the ground and waited in the room until dark.
He made no attempt to conceal his whereabouts, riding his horse with unbridled arrogance straight to the most prosperous area of the Bian River, displaying his arrogance to the extreme. Arriving at the Qiongyu Tower, Yelu Huishi whipped away several servants who blocked his path, crossed the long bridge, and headed straight for the entrance to the building.
Many guests who were about to go out or come in were frightened by these rough Liao people and retreated to both sides in embarrassment.
Yelu Huishi looked arrogantly at the waiter who came out to greet him.
The waiter came forward and greeted him in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.
"I heard that women in Tianshui are different from those in Northern Liao." Yelu Huishi's brown eyes gleamed, "I want the most beautiful one."
His Tianshui dialect was not very clear, and his tone was odd, but that didn't stop the other guests from listening to him. The brothels were mostly filled with playboys, and when they heard this, even if the other party was a prince of Northern Liao, they all laughed empathetically and started to clamor for Miss Ning'er to come out.
The waiter's smile remained unchanged as he extended his hand towards the spiraling stairs to the side, motioning Yelu Huishi to come over here.
Yelu Huishi dismounted, took two people with him, and followed the waiter up the stairs to the seventh floor.
The Qiongyu Tower is a typical Tianshui-style building, with layers of pearl curtains hanging down, strung with jewels with a Western style. With the surrounding candlelight, the dazzling light hurts people's eyes.
From the moment he stepped onto this floor, Yelu Huishi's nose was filled with a sweet fragrance, exactly the same as the one in his room just now, so strong that it could not be dissipated, and it weighed heavily on his heart and lungs.
Pretending.
He snorted coldly and was about to tell the people inside to get out when the curtain in front was lifted by a few white, smooth fingers. A girl in a blue dress and a snow-white veil walked out. She smiled at them, her voice gentle and charming, "Dear guests, Ning'er has been waiting for a long time."
Ning'er said this, waving her hand to the person beside her: "Go and light my lamp. Tonight, I will accompany Prince Yelu and taste the Tianshuiqin and tea."
The waiter responded and left. Immediately, at the top of the lantern wall on the red stage in the lobby below, an exquisite lantern with the words "Ning'er" written on it lit up.
Qiongyu Tower was mostly populated by courtesans, who enjoyed poetry, songs, tea, and the zither. Among them was Miss Ning'er, a beauty and artist whose pipa playing was renowned throughout Bianliang. Every evening, countless nobles yearned for a moment to see her beauty. At that moment, the people in the lobby saw Miss Ning'er's high-hanging lantern light up, and thinking back to the ferocious Liao people who had just arrived, they couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh—how could those barbarians appreciate the fragrance of tea or understand the sound of pipa music?
As the people below shook their heads and sighed, Yelu Huishi stepped into the room in front of him.
It was a vast, empty space, the floor covered with animal skins, candlelight flickering around it. Apart from a table and two low stools across from it, there was nothing else.
Lou Chengyi stood by the nearby railing, looking down from above. His hair was still braided, but he didn't wear his usual pigeon-blood jeweled headband. His silver fox fur coat was embroidered with layered patterns, and his arms were sleek, strong, and elegant, with gold and jade-inlaid armbands.
He turned his head and saw that Lou Chengyi was very tall. One of his eyes was as green as jade, and his face was expressionless.
In fact, very few people in Liao have green eyes.
Yelu Huishi had no memory of his brother, who had grown up in Bianliang, nor had he met the deceased Wanyan Lady. He stared into Lou Chengyi's green eyes. With his high brows and sharp eyes, combined with his green eyes, he looked unmistakably like a wild wolf on the grasslands.
Yelu Hui's tone was cold: "Did you kill Tule and the others?"
"A greeting gift, and there won't be just one." A smile suddenly appeared on Lou Chengyi's expressionless face.
He lowered his brows, and a sinister look took on his originally handsome and solemn face. "After all, thanks to your mother, I am now in Bianliang, so I am considered half a host."
"Zheng!"
A flash of cold light appeared.
The Northern Liao people were known for their martial spirit, and most of them were hot-tempered and outspoken. Yelu Huishi, already deeply hostile to Lou Chengyi, immediately drew his copper-ringed broadsword and aimed it at him, ignoring Agu's attempts to stop him.
Then he was stopped by Ning'er who appeared beside him out of nowhere.
The soft sword and the big knife were entangled together. Ning'er's eyebrows curved, and with a shake of her wrist, her internal energy spread out, and she immediately broke the long knife into several pieces.
Yelu Huishi's long sword was made of fine iron, yet it broke so easily.
This absolutely beautiful woman is a consummate expert.
"Your Highness." Ning'er said in a gentle voice, "Please sit down and let Ning'er pour you some tea."
Agu took a step forward and stood sideways in front of Yelu Huishi, vigilantly separating Ning'er from him.
Lou Chengyi, with a mocking expression, walked over and sat down leisurely. Ning'er took two steps back, stood beside Lou Chengyi and poured two cups of tea on the table.
The tea was indeed good, priceless, and there wasn't much in the palace. Ning'er's tea-making skills were also excellent, flowing smoothly, and the hot tea exuded a sweet aroma.
It's a pity that no one had a sip.
Lou Chengyi's face was almost scorching in the mist of tea, and the unconcealable coldness and indifference spread through his eyes.
Yelu Huishi's chest rose and fell as he slowly spoke, "After the banquet is over, you and your men will follow me. Someone will take over Bianliang."
"Take over Bianliang." Lou Chengyi raised his lips, his sharp white canine teeth forming a malicious smile. "Snatching things from me...is this the Emperor's intention or the Empress's? Or are you, a fool, acting on your own, thinking I'm just as stupid as you?"
The wind was stronger outside the seven-story building. The windows were not closed tightly, and they made slight noises as they were blown by the night wind.
Below, in the river, several boats slowly emerged from the bridge. Standing on them were men with long swords at their waists. Each of them had a handsome face, fair complexion, and no beard. They wore black gauze hats on their heads, and followed a man with a murderous aura.
The man was wearing a crimson robe, had a pale complexion, a handsome face, and a gloomy brow. It was Song Mingde.
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