Chapter 115: Night Banquet at the Qian Palace (3)

In the great hall, music and dance never ceased as princes and nobles passed cups and exchanged toasts.

"Mr. Fan, this junior offers you a toast."

"Too polite..."

Linghu Qingmo, dressed in a white skirt, sat properly beside Xie Jinhuan, her hand pressing down on Meiqiu, who was trying to peck at the Great Qian Emperor's dragon robe.

Noticing Xie Jinhuan's brows were furrowed, as if studying something, Linghu Qingmo leaned in and asked curiously:

"What are you looking at?"

Xie Jinhuan was pondering how to deal with Li Gongpu; hearing this, he picked up his wine cup and gestured with his gaze toward an official seated in the distance:

"This person isn't wearing a Great Qian official robe. Is he a Northern Zhou foreign envoy?"

"Yes, Guo Ziyan, the maternal uncle of Empress Dowager Guo of Northern Zhou. He has come here to negotiate."

"Negotiate what?"

Linghu Qingmo raised her wine cup and clinked it against Xie Jinhuan's:

"The Four Towns of Yunbei. After the Wu Sect uprising, both north and south suffered heavy casualties. Through mediation by various sects and schools, they reached a truce; Northern Zhou ceded the Four Towns of Yunbei to Great Qian, thus ending the war.

"Now, after a century of recuperation, Northern Zhou is dissatisfied. They claim the treaty was unjust and wish to reclaim the Four Towns of Yunzhou."

The Four Towns of Yunzhou were located near the Shanhe Pass of Great Qian. The terrain was treacherous and easy to defend but hard to attack, and the area was rich in mineral resources, holding great strategic significance. Xie Jinhuan was surprised and said:

"How could the court possibly give up such a place?"

"Indeed."

Linghu Qingmo covered her cup with her sleeve, drained the wine in one gulp, and her cheeks flushed slightly:

"How it is discussed at the table depends on how it is fought on the battlefield; words alone cannot produce results. According to Ling'er, both dynasties have enjoyed peace for many years, with prosperous people and a strong state. Before taking action, both were actually insecure. Now it is merely a battle of wits; whoever shows fear or weakness first will surely suffer a great loss."

Xie Jinhuan had little interest in court affairs and merely nodded and smiled in response. He intended to casually pat Meiqiu, but his right hand, for some reason, picked up chopsticks, clamped a piece of small dried meat, and brought it to Mo Mo's mouth.

"Gugu?"

Meiqiu, who opened her mouth to catch it, looked up with wide eyes full of shock at the sight!

Linghu Qingmo was also stunned. Looking at the side dish brought before her, her face, previously slightly flushed from wine, visibly turned crimson:

"You... what are you doing?"

"Uh..."

Xie Jinhuan didn't know what he was doing either; he was purely possessed by a ghost!

But this was clearly hard to explain, so he could only grit his teeth and act like a warm-hearted man:

"I saw you choking; eat some food to settle it."

"..."

You're actually quite nice...

But even if I want to eat vegetables, would you feed me?

With so many people here, what if someone sees?!

Linghu Qingmo thought Xie Jinhuan was drunk and, fearing others would notice, tried to push his arm down.

But this stinky brother beside her was quite stubborn; his arm didn't budge, just stubbornly pressed right up to her mouth.

"You..."

Fearing being seen, Linghu Qingmo could only swiftly bite the small crispy meat with lightning speed, then carefully glanced left and right, looking furtive.

Xie Jinhuan secretly sighed with relief; seeing Mo Mo's little expression, he smiled again...

—

Inside the golden and brilliant hall, the scent of wine mingled with laughter.

The Great Qian Emperor, wearing his dragon robe, sat at the head, scanning the entire court of civil and military officials and the virtuous from all regions. He was in a very good mood until he spotted his foolish nephew not far away.

Zhao De, seated near the Crown Prince, took advantage of the adults chatting casually to quietly lean over to the Crown Prince:

"Brother, did you bring silver? The monthly allowance from the Wang Fu is used up..."

Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan was the Great Qian Emperor's only son. His talent, wisdom, and virtue were highly regarded, and he treated others with humility and kindness. Seeing his cousin lean over to borrow money again, he smiled and said:

"I still have some surplus here. How much do you need? Tomorrow I will have someone send it to you."

"Thirty thousand taels."

"Thirty...?!"

Zhao Jinghuan was the Crown Prince, not a fool; hearing this, he gently inhaled, held back for a long time, and finally replied:

"Adding it all up, I only have over eight thousand taels in savings..."

"Eight thousand is fine too. No need for Brother to send someone; I will go and fetch it myself later."

"?"

Seeing his foolish nephew's behavior, the Great Qian Emperor's feelings could be described as 'both pleased and displeased'.

The pleasure lay in the fact that Zhao De, with such a demeanor, could not possibly harbor ambitions to usurp the throne. Even if Zhao De wanted to, the court and the country would not dare to bet on him. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, there is no need to consider the problem of his cousin's rebellion.

The displeasure lay in the fact that Dan Wang was ultimately his own younger brother. Seeing his son raised to such a ghostly state of conduct, he, as the eldest uncle, truly felt a sense of 'Do you even deserve the surname Zhao?'.

Unable to bear looking directly, the Great Qian Emperor shifted his gaze to Princess Changning not far away:

"Ling'er, I heard you brought Xie Jinhuan here as well?"

Before the Emperor and Empress, Princess Changning had to be dignified; she nodded gracefully and said:

"Yes. Father believes this young man is teachable, so he asked me to bring him here to see the world."

The Great Qian Emperor followed her gaze and saw a young man in white robes with an extraordinary bearing, seated in a corner of the hall, conversing with others. He nodded slightly:

"Recently, I have only heard of this young man's talent and virtue. I didn't expect his appearance to be so dignified and handsome. Such excellent talent serving merely as a halberd-bearer is a waste of great ability."

The Qian Emperor's words clearly indicated an intention to grant an official title to Xie Jinhuan, who had recently performed outstandingly.

Just as the Princess of Changning was about to respond, Li Gongpu, seated not far away, hurriedly smiled and interjected:

"Xie Jinhuan's recent merits are indeed remarkable, but the government office is still investigating the case of the dried corpse. In my humble opinion, it is not too late to bestow honors after this case is concluded."

The white-haired He Guozhang, being too old and appearing somewhat confused, nodded upon hearing this:

"Gongpu's words make sense. With this young man's talents, solving the case will take no more than a few days. If honors are bestowed now, it will be awkward to grant more after the case is solved; if it remains unsolved, the situation will be even harder to resolve."

The Qian Emperor thought this over and said no more, instead chatting casually with He Guozhang.

After a brief exchange, the imperial relatives and nobles who had come to the capital to celebrate the birthday began to present their gifts in turn.

The Princess of Changning also produced the Phoenix Crown crafted by the Danyang Academy. Its exquisite craftsmanship left countless court officials speechless, and Empress He, upon seeing it, smiled until her eyes narrowed.

However, amidst this bustling and noisy atmosphere, Guo Ziyan, the envoy from Northern Zhou, suddenly spoke up:

"Your country is vast in territory and prosperous in people and goods, yet the ministers' birthday gifts to the Empress are nothing but vulgar gold and silver. In the view of this humble envoy, this lacks dignity for your nation."

"..."

The entire hall fell silent.

Even Xie Jinhuan, who had been playing with Mo Mo, raised his eyelids.

There were actually many foreign envoys present, but the small states of the Western Regions, Western Rong, and Southern Barbarians were mere specks of dust; they dared not speak up unless there was a reason.

Northern Zhou's strength was not inferior to that of Great Qian, backed by substantial national power, so Guo Ziyan's words naturally carried a few sharp edges.

The Qian Emperor's smile faded slightly, but at such a moment, he clearly did not need to speak personally.

Zhang Minister of the Ministry of Rites immediately responded:

"The Empress is frugal and dislikes extravagance. It is rumored that when Empress Dowager Guo celebrated her birthday, she built a hundred-zhang pagoda in Yanjing, costing tens of millions of taels of silver. To transport the stone materials, she demolished no fewer than a thousand houses and bridges. Such a grand display is indeed beyond our Great Qian's ability to match."

Guo Ziyan remained expressionless, raising his hand to gesture toward the Buyun Terrace within the palace:

"The Qian Emperor built the nine-story Buyun Terrace to view the night scenery, at a cost no less than the hundred-zhang pagoda in Yanjing. Yet now, before the Empress, he suddenly becomes frugal. Alas..."

Upon hearing these words, the court officials immediately glared in anger, yet had no words to retort, so they turned their gaze toward Li Gongpu, who had allegedly urged the Emperor to build such a wonder!

Li Gongpu was indeed greedy and had indeed organized the construction of the Buyun Terrace, but only because the Emperor desired it; he merely followed orders, rather than having urged the project himself.

Nevertheless, even if Li Gongpu were to be executed by a thousand cuts, he would not dare to shift the blame onto the Qian Emperor, so he interjected at this moment:

"On such an auspicious and joyful day, verbal disputes will only spoil the elegance enjoyed by the guests present. Vice Minister Guo believes the ministers' gifts are vulgar; why not offer something elegant yourself, so that I, Li Mou, may broaden my horizons?"

Guo Ziyan was a diplomat; his many words were merely to show off, thereby highlighting Northern Zhou's national prestige, while also mocking this group of southern nouveau riche.

After Li Gongpu finished speaking, Guo Ziyan scanned the court officials of the Southern Court:

"Since this is a birthday celebration, it must naturally embody the character 'Zhu' (blessing). May I ask Mr. Fan, what does the character 'Zhu' mean?"

Fan Li stroked his beard, watching the spectacle; seeing that Northern Zhou had singled him out, he replied:

"It generally refers to blessings, but can also be interpreted as 'praying to gods and Buddhas.' Is Vice Minister Guo preparing to perform a shamanistic ritual in court to pray for Empress He?"

Guo Ziyan smiled and said, "Shamans are the ancestors of all hundred sects. However, after the rise of the Three Teachings, the Southern Court discarded everything left by these ancestors completely.

"According to historical records, in ancient times, when the Human Emperor toured the south, he encountered the Shaman Ancestor Zhu Man. It happened to be her birthday, so Zhu Man presented the 'Nuo Music' to celebrate.

"A thousand years have passed; you must have long forgotten how your ancestors worshipped the gods. Fortunately, our Great Zhou still remembers.

"Today, coinciding with the Empress's birthday, we shall present a piece of music, allowing His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress to also experience the grandeur of the Human Emperor's southern tour."

As he finished speaking, Guo Ziyan waved his hand, and an old man seated behind him rose, bowed, and went out to prepare.

The kings, dukes, and ministers present all frowned tightly upon hearing these words.

Xie Jinhuan, seated in a corner, also realized the intent of the Northern Zhou envoy.

If competing on history, no sect could compare with the Wu Sect, since shamans existed even during the fragmented tribal era of the human race, a time when there was not even writing, let alone the Dao, Buddha, or Confucian teachings.

During the previous dynasty, when the various sects of Great Qian flourished, there was at least some branch of the Wu Sect.

However, after the Wu Sect's chaos, the entire Wu Sect was exiled, and these ancient cultures indeed had no one to inherit them.

Northern Zhou was different; it had always been the stronghold of the Zhuji lineage of the Wu Sect. The master of Beiming Sect was also the Zhang Sect of the Zhuji Sect and the Grand Priest of Northern Zhou.

Guo Ziyan's move, seemingly a birthday tribute, was in fact a declaration: "Our Great Zhou is the legitimate inheritor of the ten thousand years of the Human Way."

If Great Qian wanted to counter this move, even sending Lu Wu Zhen to open an altar and perform rituals would be useless; they would have to bring forth the 'Human Emperor Cauldron,' whose very existence was unknown.

The Human Emperor Cauldron served a function similar to the Imperial Jade Seal; whoever held it was the legitimate Human Emperor.

Tap, tap, tap...

After everyone waited only a brief moment, footsteps were heard coming from outside the hall.

Xie Jinhuan raised his eyes and saw that the old man who had gone out first had changed into a multicolored robe adorned with colorful feathers, wearing a phoenix-head mask on his face.

Behind him, several shaman apprentices dressed similarly carried leather drums, silver gongs, and other ritual instruments, approaching the center of the hall.

Linghu Qingmo glanced briefly and added an explanation:

"In the Zhuji lineage, wearing a mask makes one a god; removing it makes one human. This mask likely represents the Shaman Ancestor Zhu Man. She is also the Fire God of the Wu Sect, known in the Daoist path as the 'Star Lord of Fire Virtue,' which is Zhu Que..."

Xie Jinhuan already knew these things, but he nodded as if he had gained some insight, to avoid making Mo Mo feel awkward.

As the group took their positions, the hall fell silent.

The shaman wearing the phoenix-head mask, after a moment of preparation, raised both hands and looked up to the sky:

"Wu-wu-ah~~..."

A humming sound then rose throughout the hall, carrying a tremolo.

Although there were no words, everyone present could feel that desolate vastness originating from ancient times, and the difficulty of the human race traveling across mountains and rivers, enduring countless years of toil and wandering, to finally obtain a place of peace.

Clang—

Sha-sha-sha...

The apprentices behind struck the copper gongs and shook the sand bells, their ethereal music echoing within the hall.

Everyone present felt an unexplained sense of peace; even Prince Zhao De, who had been watching the spectacle, transformed into someone observing the ceremony seriously.

Xie Jinhuan could clearly perceive his own irritable mood being soothed beneath the melody, even generating thoughts of relief, such as:

I have already given my all; since matters have come to this, let us accept whatever comes...

Even if the Ghost Bride is a demon capable of piercing the heavens, the result of blowing up the tomb is merely moving the stool from the corner of the main hall to the very center above the throne; there is nothing unacceptable about that...

These thoughts were not the result of curse magic or charm, but arose naturally after the mind found peace; Xie Jinhuan could not fathom the method, and his heart could not help but feel surprised.

Ye Hongshang was also listening in the shadows and now commented:

"The Zhuji lineage indeed possesses some genuine skill. This should be the 'Soothing Spirit Curse,' which uses the melodies of instruments to stir emotions and calm the soul; if one were to use bells, drums, gongs, or cymbals instead, it could also ignite human bloodlust and battle intent.

"The Demon Refining Art makes it easy to lose control of one's emotions; you can try this method to see if it can blow out the hidden agents of the Mingshen Sect."

Xie Jinhuan understood what the Ghost meant—the Northern Zhou played light music to soothe emotions, while he would unleash 'industrial metal and Khorne war chants' to explode the scene, making the hidden Demon Daoists go wild!

This method was clearly viable.

The term 'encouragement' itself originates from beating war drums and dancing to support the troops; the Zhuji lineage possesses specialized techniques capable of greatly stimulating human emotions, driving soldiers into states of fanaticism, aggression, and fearlessness, thereby boosting the army's combat power.

Demon Daoists do not emphasize restraining desires and actively pursue cravings such as 'fanaticism, bloodlust, aggression, and greed'; if forced into such an encouraged state by this method, they would likely be unable to hold back and reveal traces of their presence.

However, mastering such encouragement techniques also requires the support of the Zhuji lineage's methods; as a mere martial artist, Xie Jinhuan might have some effect by beating a war drum, but he could not achieve results so instantly.

Fortunately, the Ghost Bride provided 'one-stop service'; she immediately began gathering materials on the spot and rewriting, using the methods of the Phoenix-Head Priest to compose a 'Unsoothing Spirit Curse' technique for him.

Xie Jinhuan listened intently for a moment, felt there was potential, then beckoned with a finger, calling over Duoduo, who had been waiting at the side of the hall for the Princess's summons...

(End of this chapter)