Gu Qingqiu drank as she observed the guests.
The two rows on the right, on their side, were filled with guests wearing bizarre outfits. Some even looked unmistakably foreign, so they were most likely envoys from other lands.
Gu Qingqiu glanced back.
Why had the eunuchs seated them over here?
Was it because their group included obvious foreigners like Dudek and Kurita Isao?
"Little Loach, I think we're in the wrong seats."
Xia Hongyao had noticed too. She muttered under her breath, "We're bona fide people of the Nine Provinces. Shouldn't we be sitting across from them?"
The people opposite were probably the king's favored subjects, the ones qualified to attend the Long Victory Banquet.
"There's nothing we can do. We can't exactly ask to switch seats, can we?"
Gu Qingqiu sighed. At a time like this, it was better to avoid making trouble.
She guessed the eunuchs had mistaken them for foreigners because of the way they were dressed.
After the king had downed a few more cups and listened to a song, his gaze wandered back to Lin Baici and the others.
He was already bored with the guests he'd toyed with earlier. Now he had new playthings, so of course he wanted to have some fun with them!
But as the ruler of a nation, the king couldn't appear too arrogant and discourteous by simply ordering them to come out and make fools of themselves.
After all, these foreigners had been respectful so far. If word got out that he had slighted them, it would tarnish the reputation of his mighty empire.
"My Great Qin was founded on martial might. How can there be a banquet without swords?"
The king laughed heartily, his commanding gaze sweeping over the hall. Then he removed the sword at his side