Chapter 250: Sit Together with this King
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Huuu…”
Jiang Yi let out a breath of relief; so did the majority of the people within the palace hall. Ling Qiang and Ling Jian felt as though the huge boulder in their hearts had been released.
The King’s face also brimmed with a smile. If he couldn’t restrain the generals from the Great Xia Kingdom in an event Jiang Yi chose to persist, they might just suddenly kill the three of them; and the Azure Dragon Empire would certainly be infuriated. After all, Jiang Yi was just appointed as the Patrol Envoy. If he was to be slain in the royal palace of the Great Xia Kingdom, the Azure Dragon Empire would surely try to find some way to reclaim their reputation.
If it was any of the other va.s.sal states, this matter would have ended long ago. The crucial factor was the Great Xia Kingdom’s weak strength, which meant that it couldn’t afford to offend any of the influential forces.
“Men! Grant a seat!”
When Su Diw.a.n.g immediately yelled out after swis.h.i.+ng his sleeve, he realized that something wasn’t right. According to imperial ranks, the Patrol Envoy was of a higher rank than him; where was he supposed to arrange a seat for Jiang Yi? If he arranged it on the first row, where were Su Diguo and Xia Wuhui going to sit? He couldn’t possibly s.h.i.+ft them to the second row, right?
“Got it!”
Su Diw.a.n.g had an idea. He pointed at a purple-gold stage on the side and spoke to Jiang Yi, “Envoy Jiang, please come up and sit together with this King.”
“Wow…”
There was an uproar in the palace hall. The purple-gold stage was very long and sufficient for five to six individuals to sit on; hence, it was completely fine for Su Diw.a.n.g, Su Ruoxue, and Jiang Yi to sit together.
The problem was… if Jiang Yi was to sit on top, wouldn’t his status suddenly make a drastic leap? How honorable would it be to actually sit on the same level as a King? What was Jiang Yi? Was he in the same grade as a King?
Xia Wuhui was raging in his heart and wanted to curse out loud; Su Diguo was also helplessly shaking his head while sighing. Su Diw.a.n.g’s temperament was too soft and definitely wasn’t suited to be the King. The Great Xia Kingdom would only continue to deteriorate under his rule, and they might ultimately be eradicated by the other kingdoms or the Azure Dragon Empire.
“En!”
Jiang Yi didn’t find anything wrong as he swaggered onto the purple-gold stage. Ling Qiang and Ling Jian’s eyes brightened up and would prostrate themselves in admiration towards Jiang Yi. They felt that Princess Ling Xue had made the wisest decision.
For the past ten thousand years, the Azure Dragon Empire had always been maintaining a low profile and recuperating as they struggled on death doors—in the fine lines between the six kingdoms. In the eyes of the six kingdoms, the Azure Dragon Empire was an ill tiger that was on the verge of death. These commanders that they sent out to station in the various kingdoms had an awkward status. On regular occasions, normal officials wouldn’t even pay attention to them—let alone the King. For them to attend such banquets, it was already pretty good for them to even have a seat.
Right now, Jiang Yi was actually sitting alongside with the King? Jiang Yi had now given plenty of glamour to the imperial clan and also strengthened the majestic presence of the imperial clan; this was an unprecedented glory.
Someone barefooted wouldn’t be afraid of wearing shoes 1 !
The development of such a situation today was completely Jiang Yi’s gangster mentality! He had never treated himself a member of the Azure Dragon Empire, and if the Empire wanted to make use of him, he wanted to make sure of the Empire’s prestige as well—using the Empire’s name to act as a gangster.
Since it was already a bad scenario, the worst result would be his death. Why did it matter how the relations.h.i.+p between the Azure Dragon Empire and the va.s.sal states would turn into? Would they tear off one another’s faces? Would a war arise? All of these didn’t matter to him.
Jiang Yi casually sat on the purple-gold stage on the left of the King’s seat while Su Diw.a.n.g sat in the middle, and Su Ruoxue sat on the right. There were a few old eunuchs that were staying vigilant at all times while the royal military nearby was extremely tensed-up, fearing that Jiang Yi would go crazy and kill the King.
“All of you, back down!”
When Su Ruoxue saw those eunuchs behaving like they were going to face an enemy, she waved her hand with dissatisfaction. In the whole palace hall, she was the only one who didn’t fear Jiang Yi. She knew that as long as she was here, Jiang Yi would definitely behave himself.
Jiang Yi sat peacefully and fixed his gaze, giving off unreasonable vibes. He didn’t take a single glance at Su Ruoxue; he was fearful that if he took a few more glances, he would not be able to resist himself from s.n.a.t.c.hing her.
Su Ruoxue and Xia Wuhui’s marriage was going to carry on no matter the circ.u.mstances. Not even the Azure Dragon Empire could stop this marriage—let alone Jiang Yi. After all, this matter was related to the reputation of both kingdoms.
Of course, most importantly was… Su Ruoxue had already reached to terms that she was doing it for the sake of the Great Xia Kingdom and for her King Father and Queen Mother. Jiang Yi naturally wasn’t going to create havoc as he respected her decision.
The Kingdom Banquet was about to begin, but with Jiang Yi around, this atmosphere in this banquet became rather awkward. Even though there were many scholar-officials that brazenly tried to harmonize the atmosphere, Xiao Wuhui, Su Diguo, and Jiang Yi remained with a grave expression. How were they going to change the atmosphere?
Palace maids entered like fish and supplied an endless amount of delicacies and fine wine while female dancers were dancing lightly and gracefully, accompanied by musicians playing beautiful music. It was originally supposed to be a delightful and pleasant banquet, but the majority of the people felt as though time hung heavy. Even Su Diw.a.n.g felt as though he was seated on pinned cus.h.i.+ons, causing him extreme discomfort.
The special envoys from the four other kingdoms were having a great time since it wasn’t them that were humiliated, and they even got to see a preposterous and entertaining show. Especially Yun Fei, whose eyes smiled into a crescent moon, constantly raising her cup to toast with Jiang Yi from a distance. Jiang Yi might have a dignified expression and had been displaying his office’s prestige, but when someone offered him a toast, he wouldn’t reject it.
After drinking a few cups of wine and finis.h.i.+ng a few songs, the tensed-up atmosphere began to alleviate—at least Xia Wuhui and the rest didn’t have such an awful expression anymore. All the officials began to exchange toasts with the occasional laughter, giving rise to the mood within the palace hall.
Jiang Yi had been silently drinking wine and never did any talking, which put a relief on everyone. As long as Jiang Yi didn’t continue making a fuss, this Kingdom Banquet would be to continue as planned.
Su Ruoxue’s eyes had been drooping, and she remained seated in a proper manner with an emotionless expression. No one knew what she was thinking about. Yun Fei would occasionally look at Su Ruoxue with eyes of pity before she would take another glance at Jiang Yi, sighing at how the heaven was teasing them.
Time pa.s.sed very quickly!
It was already halfway into the Kingdom Banquet, and the highlight was finally going to start. Xia Wuhui gestured with his hand, ordering for a group of people to bring in several large boxes, credentials, and betrothal gifts to propose to Su Ruoxue.
Xia Wuhui’s betrothal gifts had been plundered by Jiang Yi. These gifts were prepared again by the Divine Martial Kingdom during these few days and were directly sent over by the teleportation array.
Xia Wuhui stood up at this moment. With a flash of the ancient divine essence ring, three jade boxes appeared in his hand. He took a step forward and bowed with respect. “This is a saint artifact, a piece of celestial stone, and the Soul-Subduing Herb that is an absolute treasure for the soul spirit. Of course… these gifts are nothing worth mentioning compared to the Princess Ruoxue who is the jewel of the Great Xia Kingdom. These gifts represent the Divine Martial Kingdom and Wuhui’s sincerity to earnestly request for King Su to marry Princess Ruoxue to me. Wuhui will do his utmost best to protect her for a lifetime and contribute to making the two kingdoms’ relations.h.i.+p for another ten thousand years…”
Soul-Subduing Herb!
Jiang Yi’s eyes suddenly warmed up, which caused the eunuchs and royal military to tense up. Su Diguo was getting ready to make a move; if Jiang Yi dared to make a reckless move to plunder the herb, he would definitely end Jiang Yi’s life here.
Su Ruoxue’s delicate body trembled while her long eyelashes shook a little. It wasn’t because she was excited—but because she was suffering! Being proposed to by another man in front of the man she loved, and this was something that couldn’t be reversed. It was imaginable how she was feeling right now.
Jiang Yi didn’t move, and his expression quickly calmed down, remaining silent.
The King of Great Xia Kingdom let out a breath of relief as he stood up to smile. “For Ruoxue to marry Wuhui is her blessing. It is a fortunate chance for the Great Xia Kingdom to be joined in marriage with the Divine Martial Kingdom. This King shall officially announce that I approve of the proposal from Wuhui and for the two kingdoms to be officially joined in marriage, forming an alliance for a lifetime!”
Before Su Diw.a.n.g could finish his statement, the corner of Su Ruoxue’s eyes gradually trickled with tears uncontrollably.
The veins on Jiang Yi’s face popped up, and his expression looked frightening while a baleful aura leaked from his body—as though he was a giant beast getting ready to devour an individual.
“Bang!”
Before Su Diw.a.n.g could finish his final word, Jiang Yi picked up a wine cup and clenched it into pieces as he stood up suddenly, too. His killing aura couldn’t be held back anymore as he poured out and instantly enveloped the entire palace hall.