Everyone present understood the matters of seniority, rank, and etiquette; they were no longer children.
As the banquet began, the feudal lords and generals ate and drank to their hearts' content, exchanging cups in high spirits. Dancers performed in the center, creating a scene of cheerful harmony.
Yet Liu Ji, seated alone, felt increasingly uneasy.
Xiang Yu said very little, but even without saying anything, he held absolute control over the entire banquet.
At a time like this, speaking little was no longer prudence—it was arrogance and disdain.
Liu Ji was a clever man. Whether it was the seating arrangement, the looks in Xiang Yu's two younger siblings' eyes, or the attitudes of the feudal lords, all of it struck him as subtly strange.
After taking a sip of wine, he noticed that Fan Zeng, seated across from him, seemed to be holding something and constantly fiddling with it. From time to time, Fan Zeng raised it toward Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu appeared not to notice—or perhaps had no intention of noticing.
Even so, Fan Zeng continued raising it again and again.
Liu Ji's scalp prickled.
Though the dance floor separated them, he was only a few meters from Fan Zeng and could clearly see what Fan Zeng kept raising.
It was a jade jue.
A jade jue signified that a gentleman had made a decision.
For Fan Zeng to keep raising it toward Xiang Yu at a time like this, what he wanted Xiang Yu to do was obvious without being spoken.
Liu Ji swallowed, feeling a chill around his neck. He furtively glanced at the three people seated in the west, only to see Zi Juan taking occasional sips of wine while Xiang An had lowered his head and focused on eating. Neither paid him any attention,