The Banquet 2
. If you can't handle it, go find the steward for help. Once we move to Duke Ding’s Manor, there will naturally be more people working on needlework. Also... change your name. You will be called... Ji...111. Night Banquet (2)
111. Night Banquet (2)
The emperor's easy agreement to the Prince of Beirong's request left the officials present quite puzzled. After all, they knew that the current emperor was someone who valued his reputation and favored close-knit relationships with powerful ministers; such a self-abasing act was not in line with his usual behavior. Regardless of what others thought, Yelü Ye was very pleased with Emperor Dachu's accommodating nature. He raised his cup to Li Yue across from him and said with a clear voice, "Then I look forward to the guidance of Princess Consort Dingwang."
Ye Li lifted her head and smiled calmly, saying, "I am not worthy of such guidance. Prince Yelü comes from an esteemed family and would never do anything rash that might offend our country's ladies."
Yelü Ye laughed without speaking and sat down to drink.
The empress was seated next to Emperor Mò Jǐngqí. She glanced at the emperor beside her, then at Lady Consort Liù wearing a snow-white robe that made her look like a pear blossom; she frowned slightly and said softly, "Lady Consort Liù doesn't usually take an interest in matters of state, but today she seems concerned about the marriage alliance princess."
Lady Consort Liù lowered her eyes to the wine cup before her and replied mildly, "This is improper of me. Your Majesty’s Empress should forgive me."
Emperor Mò Jǐngqí looked at his wife and beloved concubine from side to side, then smiled at the empress and said, "Lady Consort Liù cares about the relationship between our two countries; you shouldn't blame her for that." A trace of anger flashed across the empress's brow but she quickly regained composure and said calmly, "Very well. I hear that the Liú family has a lady in this year’s selection as well. As someone who takes national interests seriously, Your Majesty knows very well my sentiments about it. It is just that… Princess Tiānxiāng has been accompanying me in the palace these days and won't be participating. If His Majesty decides to choose her for the marriage alliance, a single imperial edict will suffice; both the Huá family and I would have no complaints."
Mò Jǐngqí was taken aback; he had been married to the empress for nearly ten years but she had never spoken to him with such obvious anger before. He realized that her irritation stemmed from worry about her only niece’s reputation. Recalling their decade of marriage, though lacking in passionate love, he still recognized the difference his wife as his principal consort brought. Mò Jǐngqí began to doubt whether his desire for Huá Tiānxiāng to be the marriage alliance princess was too extreme. The empress had only this niece and Changle only this cousin. In reality, Mò Jǐngqí knew that making Huá Tiānxiāng a marriage alliance princess with Beirong would do little more than irritate the Huá family; it wouldn't even succeed in sowing discord between them and the Prince Consort Dingwang’s household.
Imperial Concubine Liu had slapped Empress Xu’s face, so it wouldn’t be bad to compensate a little. Looking at the dignified and angry expression of Empress Xu, Emperor Momo Qiyi’s expression softened as he patted her hand. "Don’t worry. I’ll have someone delete Tianxiang’s name."
Empress Xu lowered her gaze with a faint smile on her face. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Your Highness,” Ye Li nonchalantly retracted her gaze from the dais and turned around to murmur at Mo Xiuyao, "It seems that we don’t need to worry about Tianxiang." Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, while Ye Li smiled. "Empress Xu appears to have convinced Your Majesty on Tianxiang’s behalf." Empress Xu had no favor or children but she still managed to hold her position in the palace despite being surrounded by powerful enemies. Even Imperial Concubine Liu did not dare offend her easily, which showed that she was definitely a formidable opponent as well. Not long after Imperial Concubine Liu crossed the line and spoke out of turn, Empress Xu only had to express some displeasure for Emperor Momo Qiyi to back down.
But… Ye Li’s clear eyes swept over Lady in White on the dais, her brows furrowing slightly as she thought deeply.
"Empress Xu isn’t unintelligent; it was just a lack of interest. As for you, Ahli, you seem to possess some rather unusual abilities," Mo Xiuyao said with a light smile. Although they were seated at the very front, there was still quite a distance between them and the Dragon Throne on the dais. They could see the expressions and movements of those above but it would be impossible for Mo Xiuyao to hear their whispers from amidst this noisy crowd.
Ye Li pursed her lips and glanced at him with a grand gesture, saying, "If you’re going to ask, why not just learn sign language What’s wrong with that"
Mo Xiuyao chuckled. "I don’t need to; it’s good enough for my wife to know."
Ye Li looked at him and lowered her head as she studied the wine in front of her. She knew that there were too many loopholes in her behavior in front of Mo Xiuyao since the start, which was initially just an occasional slip-up that could be blamed on her carelessness after years of a peaceful life. Later on, however, she gradually refused to hide anything from him and even went so far as to purposefully reveal unusual sides of herself.
It had been somewhat of a test, but Mo Xiuyao never showed any abnormal reaction to her differences, treating it all as normal. This was both surprising and secretly delightful for Ye Li because not everyone enjoyed living their life while hiding behind a mask.
The banquet was held in the Imperial Palace’s highest pavilion, Zhaixing Pavilion, which had been specially arranged with fireworks and large-scale dance performances to welcome the Northern Rong prince. Seated on the upper floor, Ye Li looked at the enthusiastic Emperor Momo Qiyi and raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. Such a deliberately grand welcoming banquet would do nothing but provoke the North Rong prince’s ambition in ruling Central Land; it could hardly be called intimidating. After all, Northern Rong was by far the poorest of the four countries, so there was no way they would have any sort of reverence for Great Chu, which occupied the most fertile lands. Harsh conditions and their aggressive nature made them want to plunder without restraint.
“Dowager Princess Fengyue… Uncle…” On Zhaixing Pavilion, it was much freer than in the main hall. Before long, Dowager Princess Fengyue had quietly approached Ye Li. With many people looking at the fireworks and performances on the ground floor, very few noticed her approach.
Ye Li looked down at her with a smile. "Why are you here, Your Highness"
Dowager Princess Fengyue blinked and whispered in Ye Li’s ear. “Mother told me to tell you to be careful of Imperial Concubine Liu.”
Ye Li was taken aback before turning her head toward Empress Xu a short distance away. The empress had a faint smile on the edge of her mouth and nodded slightly.
Ye Li bowed her head in thanks, patting Dowager Princess Fengyue’s little head with a smile. "So you came to pass Empress Xu a message Thank you."
Dowager Princess Fengyue waved her hand dismissively and said grandly, “No need to thank me. I don’t like Imperial Concubine Liu either.”
"Why" Ye Li curiously asked. Empress Liu was cold-tempered, but it didn't seem like she would offend even a little girl. Previously, Empress Liu had helped her twice and never showed any animosity toward her, but this time… Ye Li clearly felt that since their last meeting in the palace, Empress Liu's attitude towards her seemed to have changed subtly. It was an inconspicuous change; on the surface, there didn't seem to be anything different, but it could only be described as intuition. And Ye Li always trusted her intuition because it had saved her life countless times on the battlefield.
Princess Changle pouted and said, "She always looks at everyone with disdain, yet Father Emperor listens to everything she says. She's not nice at all; when Zhenning cried, she ignored her. Mother would never treat me like that. Mother loves Changle the most." The last sentence was clearly boastful.
"Zhenning" Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao in puzzlement. Mo Xiuyao calmly replied, "The Emperor's second princess, Princess Zhenning, is Empress Liu's daughter."
Ye Li looked ahead and noticed that the snow-white-clad Empress Liu seemed to be missing something beside her. The emperor had allowed all concubines, princes, and princesses in the palace to come up for fireworks. Therefore, almost every concubine with status and children brought their children along. If earlier they couldn't bring their children due to etiquette rules, now even two little princesses and princes around a year old were being carried by wet nurses. Yet Empress Liu's two sons and one daughter didn't seem to be there at all, which seemed strange. Especially since the second princess was about seven or eight years old and wasn't an unruly child. Was it really true that Empress Liu disliked her own children
"Does Princess Changle often play with Princess Zhenning" Ye Li smiled.
Princess Changle shook her head, somewhat gloomily saying, "Zhenning doesn't like playing with me either. She only likes to play with her brothers, but she doesn't allow me to watch them. Mother says it's because I'm still too young and wouldn't know how to take care of my younger brothers. But… Zhenning is even younger than me."
Ye Li pinched Princess Changle's little face, sighing inwardly; the Empress really protected Princess Changle very well.
"Assassins!" Suddenly a sharp cry rang out as several dark figures darted from the darkness towards the upper floor. Ye Li helplessly rolled her eyes and pulled Princess Changle to her side. The Xingting Tower頓時陷入一片混亂，大批侍衛湧向前麵的皇帝、皇後和皇子公主們所在之處。下麵的大臣和女眷亂成一團各自尋找地方躲藏。隻是看了一眼，葉璃就明白這些黑衣人的背後不是那天晚上見到的那幾個廢物可比的。每一個都是百裡挑一的高手，剛一照麵樓上的侍衛就吃了大虧。一片鮮血嚇得女眷們尖叫起來，整座樓上一片混亂。
長樂公主躲在葉璃身邊，隻露出一個小腦袋來偷看。葉璃拍拍她的腦門道：“彆看，小心嚇著。”
長樂公主連忙縮了回去，有些擔心地問道：“定王妃，我母後和父王會不會有事？”
葉璃笑道：“你放心，就是我們這裡的人全部有事他們也不會。”那麼多的侍衛圍著還有事那這樓上的人就該被刺客殺光了。群臣中會武功的也紛紛挺身迎上了黑衣刺客，這不僅僅是為了自己和大家的安全，同樣也是一個在皇帝麵前表現的機會。墨修堯安穩地坐在葉璃身邊，不知何時出現的暗衛穩穩地守住他們所在的周圍，即使偶爾有一兩個突破防守的，也被侍立在一旁的青鸞和暗二暗三解決了。一片混亂的樓上他們這邊顯出一種詭異的平靜。
翻譯中的部分句子重新組織如下：
The Xingting Tower suddenly fell into chaos as a large number of guards rushed to the area where the emperor, empress, and princes and princesses were. Below, officials and ladies-in-waiting were in disarray, each trying to find somewhere to hide. Just by glancing around, Ye Li understood that these black-robed figures weren't like those useless people from the previous night; every one of them was an elite expert picked out of a hundred candidates. The guards on the upper floor suffered significant losses upon first contact. The sight of blood frightened everyone into screaming, causing complete chaos throughout the tower.
Princess Changle hid beside Ye Li and peeked with just her little head visible. Ye Li patted her forehead and said, "Don't look, be careful not to scare yourself."
Princess Changle quickly retracted herself and asked worriedly, "Madam Dingwang, will my mother and father be alright"
Ye Li smiled and replied, "You can rest assured. Even if everyone here were in trouble, they wouldn't be."
The guards surrounding them would have ensured that the assassins couldn't harm anyone on this floor. Among the ministers present, those who knew martial arts stepped forward to confront the black-clad assassins, not only for their own and others' safety but also as an opportunity to impress the emperor. Mo Xiuyao sat calmly beside Ye Li, with dark guards appearing at unknown times to secure their surroundings firmly. Occasionally, if someone managed to break through the defense, they were dealt with by Qingluan and Dark Guards Number Two and Three stationed nearby. Amidst the chaos on the upper floor, this area maintained an eerie calm.
"I wonder if His Highness wants to go and protect the emperor" Ye Li slightly teased Mo Xiuyao as she asked him softly. Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying, "If I were to go now, Emperor Jing would not think that I am there to protect him; rather, he might suspect me of wanting to harm the emperor."
Ye Li turned her head and looked towards where Emperor Jingqi was. She shook her head in boredom. According to rumors, the current emperor was said to be accomplished both in literature and martial arts. How fearful could one man be that all the guards on the floor would surround him While keeping an eye on the assassins, he also kept glancing at their direction; not only Mo Xiuyao, but anyone who had anything to do with Ding王府would likely be treated as an assassin.
"Hey, it's not right for His Highness and his wife to be so relaxed in such a chaotic place," Ye Leye said from不遠處. He was easily handling the assassins while still finding time to smile at Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li.
Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly, "If we cannot deal with just a few assassins, then why do we need the palace guards"
Ye Leye laughed loudly, "Your Highness is right. A few small thieves don't deserve Prince Ding's personal attention."
"Prince Ye Li, please move to one side. The assassins are all coming your way," Dark Three, standing in front of Ye Li, casually disposed of an assassin and said expressionlessly. Ye Leye raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the body that had fallen before Dark Three; then he smiled, saying apologetically, "Sorry, I don't know why these assassins always seem to follow me around." The corpse lying on the floor was unmarked by any injury but for a very thin slash across its neck; even so, not much blood had flowed out. The assassin hadn't even struggled before dying. This kind of skill would be difficult even for a professional hitman to achieve. The man in front of them wore only ordinary guards' clothing and seemed entirely relaxed amidst the chaos.
Seeing the chaotic scene before her, Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked quietly, "Are these assassins targeting Prince Ye Leye" Most of the assassins were heading towards Ye Leye. Although that might be because he looked to be the strongest fighter there, it was unlikely that they did not recognize his different attire from that of Chu.
Mo Xiuyao stared at the tall and handsome man who always seemed to be hovering nearby and said, "It may have something to do with him. However... all these assassins are Han people. Neither Ye Leye nor Ye Hong would send North Rong people to cause trouble in the palace. Prince Ye Leye is deliberately leading the assassins here to test your abilities." Mo Xiuyao's strength was well-known, so there was no need for a few assassins to verify it. It was unlikely that Ye Leye expected a few assassins to kill him either, which meant he must be testing Ye Li.
Ye Li smiled and said, "Do I need to take action in this situation"
"Of course not," Dark Three answered softly. "If the queen's wife personally handles a few assassins, it would mean that our existence is pointless." Looking at Dark Three with a smile, Ye Li said, "Now you are my right-hand man; you're not an暗衛anymore. Please don't rush into battle so eagerly" Hearing this, Dark Three immediately looked crestfallen. He preferred being an暗衛when he could charge forward and beat the enemy to a pulp. Now they had to wait for the few stray fish that slipped through their guards' nets; it was ridiculous.
Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "I think he isn't trying to test Yeli's martial arts but her courage."d ask, "What benefits do I stand to gain"Mo Xiuyao's smile was cold, "This king giving you a chance at life isn't enough of a benefit"Han Mingyue was speechless. He habitually believed that Mo Xiuyao...