Since both Song Shuo and Ah Shu used the term “aristocratic sons,” Xiao Rong automatically assumed these people were young noblemen in their teens or twenties. He asked Song Shuo to draw up a list, and the invited guests were either children of great aristocratic families or well-known commoner scholars. In short, every one of them had to possess some kind of usefulness.

However, when the banquet actually began, Xiao Rong realized he had misunderstood the term “aristocratic sons.”

This one was in his thirties…

That one, with a full belly, was at least forty.

Why was there even someone walking in with a cane?!

……

Xiao Rong looked completely dazed. He never understood so clearly what it meant that “a man is a boy until the day he dies.”

*

Sitting at the head seat, Xiao Rong felt a little guilty.

Since the banquet was held in his name, he naturally invited Song Shuo and the Buddha’s Son as well. However, he worried that inviting Gao Xunzhi would make these younger men feel constrained, so he didn’t send Gao Xunzhi an invitation.

Now he understood why Gao Xunzhi had been giving him such resentful looks all day.

……

So be it. Since things had come to this, he shouldn’t think about that little old man anymore.

Xiao Rong smiled and, after saying a few opening remarks as the host, clapped his hands lightly. A songstress and dancers entered to perform, and servants came in carrying dishes.

No one started by discussing serious matters. Everyone first exchanged polite pleasantries, watched the singing and dancing in silence for a while, and only then gradually brought up what they actually wanted to say. Xiao Rong sat calmly at the seat of honor, even though he was likely the youngest person present.

Those who had come to Chenliu were either carrying important missions for their families, or were people not valued by their clans—those whose presence or absence made no difference, and who were therefore sent to test the waters.

Xiao Rong’s observations were roughly correct. The entire banquet was divided into two extremes: on one side were people with clear eyes who appeared to be immersed in the music and dance, but were actually observing everything carefully and behaving politely. On the other side were those who quickly revealed their true nature, their eyes lingering on the dancers’ chests and thighs. If this were not the King’s residence, their hands would probably already have reached out.

Xiao Rong anticipated this situation. After glancing twice, he withdrew his gaze, picked up a bite-sized pastry from the plate, and ate while thinking: why wasn’t he here yet?

Just as he was pondering this, a gate more than 3 meters tall was pushed open. Qu Yunmie, dressed in black scholar’s robes with a finely crafted thin sword at his waist, entered.

With this attire, he looked similar to the aristocratic sons present, but his aura towered over them like a mountain.

The sound of silk and bamboo music immediately stopped, and the dancers quickly retreated. Some people had seen Qu Yunmie before, others had not, but whether they recognized him or not, any one could guess who had arrived.

At that moment, Xiao Rong stood up, walked down properly from the upper seat, and bowed to Qu Yunmie.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

With him leading, everyone followed suit. In an instant, all stood and said respectfully in unison, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Qu Yunmie remained silent for a moment.

This was the entrance Xiao Rong had arranged for him. He hadn’t originally understood why he was asked to do this, but now, looking at all those bowed heads, he suddenly understood why the nobles of Jinling enjoyed humiliating others.

This was the greatest distinction between them and common people. If one wanted to appear superior, one had to emphasize that difference. Watching others submit gave a pleasure that nothing else could replace.

Even so, Qu Yunmie didn’t need humiliation to gain that feeling. If he drew his blade, everywhere he looked there would already be people kneeling and begging for mercy.

……

Finding it dull in his heart, he nevertheless forced himself to complete Xiao Rong’s task. With a deadpan expression, he walked up and took his seat. Only then did he say coldly to the crowd, “I heard there was a banquet here, so I came uninvited. Please be at ease and continue your gathering.”

Everyone below expressed their thanks, and the silk and bamboo music resumed.

Qu Yunmie sat where Xiao Rong had just been, and Xiao Rong respectfully stepped forward and sat beside him. In the eyes of the guests below, Qu Yunmie spoke a few words to him, after which Xiao Rong relaxed, and the two then conversed happily. In reality, however, their exchange was:

Qu Yunmie: “Can I get angry right now? Could I use that man as an excuse? His patchy baldness makes me extremely displeased.”

Xiao Rong: “Try it and see.”

Song Shuo and the Buddha’s Son sat side by side. Looking at the two above them, Song Shuo sighed repeatedly.

“What was the point of inviting these people? Compared to them, my Song family could already be considered morally upright.”

Mijing didn’t respond. He simply drank his tea, treating Song Shuo’s chatter as irrelevant.

Used to being ignored, Song Shuo continued scanning the hall casually. His gaze drifted back to the upper seats.

Even though they were so close, they couldn’t hear the conversation above because Qu Yunmie and Xiao Rong deliberately kept their voices low. Still, Song Shuo found something strange.

“Hmm?” he murmured.

Mijing seemed to catch something different in that tone of confusion. He subconsciously looked over, and Song Shuo’s expression became increasingly odd.

“I feel like those two are even closer than before,” he said.

Mijing froze. He also looked up.

Nothing about Xiao Rong and Qu Yunmie’s behavior seemed improper, but just as he turned his head, he happened to see Qu Yunmie reach out and wipe a pastry crumb from the corner of Xiao Rong’s mouth.

Mijing: “…”

He immediately looked away, and as expected, Song Shuo’s expression changed repeatedly.

After a while, it settled into anger.

“The King is truly improper! There were napkins on the table!”

Mijing was speechless. So that was your focus?!

……

Although Xiao Rong had originally arranged for Qu Yunmie to play the villain, how one played that role required skill. He needed Qu Yunmie to play a kind of villain that everyone would submit to—so that they would understand his authority and nobility, and stop looking down on him as a mere refugee-born commander.

Moreover, given the chaos these people had already caused in Chenliu, they deserved to be frightened by Qu Yunmie. Ever since Emperor He Kui, the dynasty hadn’t seen a truly strong ruler, so these people had grown used to manipulating emperors. It was time for them to remember what it was like to survive under a real sovereign.

Thus, Qu Yunmie had to be the one to play this role. If Xiao Rong did it, it would feel strange. Fear of the future king was fine, but fearing the current strategist instead would break proper order.

There was also a limit to how far this intimidation could go. They needed to be afraid, but not so afraid that they thought Qu Yunmie was about to start killing people. Otherwise, the label of “bloodthirsty tyrant” would stick to him again.

So Xiao Rong had specifically asked Qu Yunmie not to bring any weapons.

Qu Yunmie refused. He believed that voluntarily laying down his weapon was equivalent to submitting to these people, so he refused outright. In the end, Xiao Rong had no choice but to offer up his own Chilong Sword. It was less a weapon and more a work of art, and wearing it would even elevate Qu Yunmie’s appearance.

A banquet where he could leave after losing his temper, plus temporarily possess the Chilong Sword—no matter how one looked at it, it was a good deal. So Qu Yunmie arrived on time.

After the first round of singing and dancing ended, the guests were free to speak, and the atmosphere quickly became lively. There were both clever and foolish people present, but even the foolish ones were trained by aristocratic families and had some skill in speech, so there was never a dull moment.

Since the banquet was framed as a social gathering for making friends, no one mentioned land purchases, official appointments, or investment in the Northern Army. They simply flattered Xiao Rong and Qu Yunmie, and occasionally performed a talent.

One even brought his family’s chime bells. The instrument was large, clearly brought just to display skill.

Surprisingly, under their deliberate flattery, Xiao Rong could not find any faults. These people were extremely skilled at pleasing others. Even Qu Yunmie listened to one or two pieces seriously, still unable to find a reason to lose his temper.

From how frequently Qu Yunmie glanced at him, Xiao Rong knew he was already reaching his limit.

Xiao Rong: “…”

He had miscalculated.

They had come today to shift blame. To pin it on someone guilty so everyone could condemn that person, but if Qu Younie suddenly exploded for no reason, everyone would think he was insane.

….

Xiao Rong began to get anxious, because Qu Yunmie wasn’t the kind of person who would give anyone face. Even when Xiao Rong himself provoked him too much and made him angry, he would still throw out a couple of cutting words to stab him—let alone these strangers. He considered whether he should leave early. In any case, everyone knew he was weak and in poor health. If he left, Song Shuo could host these people instead.

Song Shuo didn’t yet know that his little friend was once again thinking of dumping a mess on him. He was eating with his head down when suddenly he heard an old, hearty laugh.

Song Shuo jolted and immediately straightened his back.

He was extremely familiar with this kind of opening. Every time people in his family wanted something from him, they would start with three standard “hahaha” laughs. They used the laughter to show seniority, and also to show that what they were about to say was a good thing—even if only they themselves believed it.

As expected, after laughing, the man stood up with a kindly expression and said, “The young are to be feared! The young are to be feared! Unfortunately, this old man is already advanced in years, with dim eyesight, and can no longer compete with these youngsters for the spotlight. However, since this is my first time meeting the Northern King, I cannot possibly come without presenting anything. Come, call the girl in.”

Xiao Rong: “…”

He was stunned. He thought bringing a chime set already counted as talent. Who would’ve thought this man even brought his granddaughter.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help glancing toward the entrance. Was it really a granddaughter? This old man looked nearly eighty, surely it couldn’t be a daughter, right?

The girl seemed to be standing at some distance. Xiao Rong stretched his neck and looked for two seconds but still couldn’t see her. He withdrew his gaze and turned to say something to Qu Yunmie—only to be nearly frightened to death by Qu Yunmie’s dark, eerie stare.

Xiao Rong: “…”

He leaned back abruptly, bracing himself with one hand on the ground, and swallowed. “I was just looking.”

The gloom in Qu Yunmie’s eyes did not lessen.

Xiao Rong opened his mouth as if to argue, but the next second he smoothly lowered his head, picked up his chopsticks, and ate a bite of food.

While chewing, Xiao Rong thought: today, he would not be lifting his head again.

……

While Xiao Rong was “escaping into food,” the girl had already entered. She was shy, beautiful, and strikingly lovely—so beautiful that she clearly couldn’t be this old man’s biological granddaughter.

……

The direct daughters of noble families were usually quite good-looking, but honestly, none of them truly qualified as peerless beauties. After all, a top-tier beauty was like winning the lottery—no matter how attractive the parents were, the child might not surpass them.

The Sun family had a Sun Shanlu, which was already rare enough, and even after more than twenty years, no family had produced a daughter more beautiful than her.

In the Kingdom of Qiuci, there was a princess said to be like a goddess descending to earth, praised by her people for over ten years. Precisely because such beauty was so rare, she was so highly valued.

Then the old man began introducing the girl’s background. As expected, she was not his granddaughter, but a girl from his clan—just like other aristocratic families who used clan women for profit.

Clan daughters of noble families were different from those of lesser families. As long as she bore the family name, she was inherently superior to others. Even if she was not his biological granddaughter, she was still a proper noble lady of the family.

The old man had originally brought her to let Xiao Rong see her. If Xiao Rong liked her, she would become his lawful wife, if not, she could still become a noble concubine.

Xiao Rong was no longer the same as before. Noble families were willing to endure their disgust and send daughters to be his concubines.

That was only the old man’s original plan. After all, this banquet was organized by Xiao Rong, and he did not expect to meet the Northern King here. When he first saw Xiao Rong’s appearance, he had already begun to hesitate. When he saw the Northern King enter, his eyes immediately lit up.

Scholars were picky and difficult, but military men were said to simply sleep with whoever they found attractive. Between the Northern King and the Minister, of course one would choose the Northern King.

Such a last-minute idea was truly foolish. He didn’t even consider that the Northern King was already twenty-four, nearly twenty-five. Could a man of that age still be so shallow as to sleep with anyone attractive? Even if he were, his standards would only be higher than those of scholars—he liked beautiful women, yes, but only the most beautiful.

After the performance ended, the old man waved the girl away and bowed toward Qu Yunmie. Qu Yunmie stared at him, as if waiting to hear his final words before killing him.

Sigh. The old man really was getting old, his eyesight truly was failing. He had not noticed Qu Yunmie’s pitch-black expression at all and continued praising the girl endlessly.

From the moment he targeted Qu Yunmie, Xiao Rong knew nothing serious would happen. As expected, when the old man finally revealed his intention and tentatively asked whether Qu Yunmie wanted to take the beauty home, Qu Yunmie paused.

Oh. It was for me, not for Xiao Rong.

Xiao Rong kept his head down and said nothing. Qu Yunmie glanced at him but could not see his expression.

However, since Xiao Rong never looked up, it meant he was calm. Qu Yunmie finally pulled himself out of his rage, only to fall into a new swamp of frustration.

Are you so sure I wouldn’t accept? Do you think I wouldn’t take one just to show you?!

Everyone was looking at Qu Yunmie, but Qu Yunmie was looking at Xiao Rong. Time passed slowly, and the old man’s expression grew increasingly awkward, since he took Qu Yunmie’s silence as a complete refusal.

Just as the old man was about to laugh and smooth things over, someone across the hall suddenly mocked him.

“You say one daughter is sought by a hundred families, but in your case, one daughter is sent to two households. No wonder the Northern King refuses. If he agreed, wouldn’t it create discord with Minister Xiao?”

Xiao Rong: “…”

He had been playing dead perfectly, yet someone insisted on calling his name. He quietly lifted his head, looked at the idiot, and decided he would expel him from the city in two days.

As for Xiao Rong, he immediately understood the man’s implication, but Qu Yunmie did not think that far. He truly believed the old man was offering the girl to him, and only now realized he was being used as a fallback.

He felt a bit annoyed, but also somewhat relieved. At this stage, he was still relatively calm, but the people below soon escalated into arguments.

The old man, having his dirty laundry exposed, could not take it anymore and retorted in turn, exposing the other man’s affairs as well. Soon, the hall descended into chaos.

These people were used to acting arrogantly in Jinling, where even the Imperial Uncle could only silently listen to noble disputes and stop them when necessary. They assumed Chenliu would be the same.

They were wrong. The hall became chaotic and noisy.

Qu Yunmie, after listening for a while, understood only one thing: it wasn’t just this old man. Several people here had also brought women prepared for marriage alliances with Xiao Rong.

Daughters were brought, dowries were brought, betrothal letters were brought—only the wedding chamber was missing.

Even Xiao Rong himself didn’t know he was this popular. At some point, he had lifted his head, staring dumbfounded at the quarrel below, which was about to escalate into physical fighting.

At that moment, a sharp sound cut through the air.

Whoosh!

The Chilong Sword flew past Xiao Rong’s eyes, shaving off the topknot of the shouting man, and embedded itself into the wall behind him.

Silence fell instantly.

Then someone screamed. Several people stood up in panic, including Xiao Rong.

He stood up purely in distress, staring at the Chilong Sword helplessly stuck in the wall, swaying slightly.

Qu Yunmie, you will never touch my sword again!

The most terrified person was the idiot. His hair was disheveled, his bald patch exposed. He sat on the ground trembling, finally regretting his mouth. This was not Jinling, this was Chenliu. The Northern King truly killed people.

Qu Yunmie’s voice was like that of a demon from hell, striking everyone’s ears. “What do you take this King and Xiao Rong for? Marriage at will, engagement at will? Let me make this clear—here, there is only one rule: kill at will!!!”

“Get lost!!! If I ever see your disgusting faces again, I will cut them off!!!”

With that, everyone scrambled and fled in terror, leaving only Mijing and Song Shuo sitting in stunned silence.

Qu Yunmie looked at the mess of leftovers on the ground, still not calmed down. He turned and snorted coldly at Xiao Rong, who was still standing above, then stormed out.

Xiao Rong sighed helplessly and hurried after him, ignoring the sword.

Song Shuo: “…”

He had just witnessed an absurd drama and nearly been dragged into disaster.

He finally recovered and asked, puzzled, “Why is the King so angry?”

Mijing said nothing.

Song Shuo truly did not understand “Whether he marries or not is Xiao Rong’s own matter. Why should the King decide for him? Isn’t that overstepping? Why are even such matters discussed between a ruler and subject?”

Mijing’s heart tightened.

Then Song Shuo suddenly understood. “I get it. After Yuan Baifu’s betrayal, the King doesn’t want Xiao Rong to be tied to any Southern Yan people anymore.”

His expression changed to anger. “That’s unacceptable! Public and private matters must be separate! Besides, I am also from Southern Yan!”

He turned to Mijing for agreement. “Monk, don’t you think so?”

Mijing looked at him, then finally sighed and pushed a plate of food over.

“Eat more,” he said.

Eat more to fix your brain leaks.

……

Meanwhile, Xiao Rong thought Qu Yunmie had gone back to the military camp in anger, since he usually took it out on wooden stakes when furious.

After chasing for a while, he realized Qu Yunmie had gone straight to his own room.

……

After a moment of silence, Xiao Rong waved away the confused Ah Shu and pushed open the door.

Qu Yunmie was already standing inside, clearly waiting for him. As soon as Xiao Rong entered, he launched into an attack.

“I am a magnanimous person!”

Xiao Rong: “…”

That first sentence alone rendered him speechless.

Qu Yunmie then said furiously, “But I am not magnanimous to this extent! I can say nothing and remain your subject, but you will not marry or have children under my eyes! Xiao Rong, I am serious. If you dare marry, I will dare kill!”

He did not care how unreasonable it sounded, this was what he believed. He had already yielded so much for Xiao Rong and given him everything—why couldn’t Xiao Rong satisfy even this one wish?

Human limits could shrink endlessly or expand endlessly.

Before, Qu Yunmie had only hoped Xiao Rong would live. Now he wanted more.

This wasn’t Qu Yunmie’s fault—it was Xiao Rong’s. He had allowed it.

Xiao Rong leaned back calmly, arms crossed, the door behind him shaking slightly. He nodded.

“Alright. I won’t marry.”

Qu Yunmie: “…”

He paused, examining him. “Truly?”

Xiao Rong only shrugged.

He couldn’t marry anyway.

If he did, that would be fraud.

 

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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