The Prince of Jin'an's Birthday Banquet

Today was the Prince of Jin'an's birthday.

The prince's residence was decked out in lanterns and decorations. Red silk stretched from the main gate all the way to the main hall, and red lanterns painted with golden bats hung thick beneath the eaves.

Shortly after nine, guests were already crowding through the gates.

Jinzhou's great families, generals stationed in the various provinces, prominent merchants on good terms with Qiao Nanyu, and even envoys sent from several neighboring provinces to offer birthday congratulations filled the front hall in a dense mass.

Cups and drinking tallies passed back and forth amid boisterous laughter and chatter, a lively scene like oil boiling over a roaring fire.

Qiao Nanyu sat upright in the seat of honor, dressed in a crimson-purple brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist.

He raised his cup and drank with the guests, his laughter ringing out as he brimmed with vigor.

A chorus of flattery rose from those below him.

Qiao Shuyi sat upright at the head of the women's table, wearing a wide-sleeved, off-the-shoulder gauze robe of moonlight brocade woven with cloud patterns. It glimmered with a cool, ethereal light beneath the lamps that filled the hall.

The fabric was exquisite, moonlight-white with cloud patterns woven in dark silver. When she moved, it flowed like moonlight, serene and luxurious.

The off-the-shoulder cut exposed a stretch of lustrous white shoulder, an alluring sensuality and cool elegance mingling wondrously in her.

Zongzheng Heng sat beside her in a black brocade robe, his face covered by a full silver mask.

Qiao Shuyi watched the cups passing around the crowded hall, but for no apparent reason, her heart began to pound.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

The book had devoted very little ink to how Zongzheng Heng dealt with the Prince of Jin'an.

When would he make his move?

Could it be today?

It had been almost a month since Zongzheng Heng entered the residence, which also matched the timeline in the book.

Although she had long known the prince's residence would fall, she still couldn't help sighing when the day truly arrived.

Her sixteen years of living like a local tyrant were coming to an end.

Qiao Shuyi let out a long sigh inwardly.

From now on, she could only rely on herself for everything.

Although Qiao Shuyi had faith in her ability to control people's hearts, the human heart was the most unreliable thing in the world, to say nothing of the fact that Zongzheng Heng was the emperor.

If I were the emperor, what would I choose?

She would harden her heart and kill everyone who threatened the throne, leaving not a single one alive.

If Zongzheng Heng truly meant to kill her, what could she use to stop him?

After today, all she could do was gamble-gamble on the fruits of this past month.

If he became intent on killing her, she could only fake her death, hide her identity from then on, and never appear before him again.

Because she would never underestimate the cruelty and ruthlessness of anyone in power.

But if he felt even a trace of attachment to her, she would take the gamble.

This life had been a windfall to begin with. If she won, boundless wealth and honor awaited her; if she lost, it would be no more than death.

She didn't mind.

Qiao Shuyi persuaded herself and pressed down the unease in her heart.

She looked at the row of flamboyantly dressed women opposite her and suddenly spoke softly:

"Zhigui, look. That whole group is made up of my father's concubines. Tell me, is it really true that men with great power and influence can never love just one woman? Among the men I've met, there isn't a single one who has only one wife."

"Zhigui, do you want to have many women?"

"No."

If he could do as he pleased, he wanted only one woman.

He didn't indulge in lust, nor did he crave the lively bustle among women.

To him, sharing a bed with a woman he didn't like was not pleasure, but torment.

It was a duty he had no choice but to fulfill for the sake of heirs, a compromise he had to make for the sake of the court.

But.

His gaze narrowed slightly at the woman beside him.

She seemed to be an exception...

Qiao Shuyi blinked. "Really?"

That, she did believe.

The book had said that once Zongzheng Heng held supreme power, the beauties of the six palaces were all mere ornaments. Only Su Yunyan received his attentions, her favor surpassing everyone else's in the harem.

He truly wanted only one person.

Unfortunately, the one he wanted was someone else.

Zongzheng Heng gave a quiet "Mm," picked up his cup, and lowered his head to take a sip.

Qiao Shuyi propped her chin on her hand and looked at him, a hint of a smile spreading through her eyes:

"Zhigui, do you know what I like most about you, then?"

Zongzheng Heng didn't even lift his eyelids. His voice was even:

"You like my looks, and you like that I belong to you alone."

He felt he had seen through her by now-this madwoman wouldn't spare another person's belongings a glance, but once she laid claim to something, she wouldn't let anyone else so much as touch it.

He was no exception.

Qiao Shuyi, however, shook her head and leaned close to his ear with a meaningful look:

"Zhigui, you're wrong."

"What I like most is when you're lying in my arms, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. I like it very much."

"Pfft-"

Zongzheng Heng choked on his wine, coughing so hard that his shoulders shook.

He turned his head and coughed several times before recovering.

Ever since the two of them had consummated their marriage, this madwoman had grown bolder by the day.

He had thought he was used to it, yet she always found a way to catch him off guard with a single offhand remark.

Smiling brightly, Qiao Shuyi pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth, asking casually as she did so:

"Zhigui, what do you like most about me, then?"

Zongzheng Heng lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. "What I like most-is when you're sitting on my lap, moving up and down."

Qiao Shuyi froze for a moment, then laughed even more delightedly.

She leaned over and pecked the corner of his lips:

"Then we really are a match made in heaven."

The two of them flirted in private.

Meanwhile, Qiao Nanyu had already been through three rounds of drinks at the head of the hall, and his face had turned red.

He rose and raised his cup to the guests. "I am deeply grateful that you have all honored me with your presence today. Come, let us have another cup!"

The guests raised their cups one after another and were just about to drink-

"Your Highness, a moment."

A clear voice came from outside the hall, neither loud nor soft, yet it distinctly carried over all the clamor within.

Everyone froze and turned toward the entrance in unison.

A middle-aged man in a blue robe walked into the hall with his hands behind his back, his steps unhurried and his bearing extraordinary.

Two rows of guards in black armor followed behind him, marching in perfect unison.

The man walked to the center of the hall, drew a roll of bright yellow silk from his sleeve, and held it high:

"An imperial edict-the Prince of Jin'an shall receive it."

The smile froze on Qiao Nanyu's face. His cup hung suspended in midair for a long moment before he set it down.

He slowly rose, his gaze sweeping over the edict before settling on the blue-robed man's face. In a low voice, he said:

"And you are, my lord...?"

"Minister of War, Gu Huai'an. By His Majesty's command, I have come to offer Your Highness birthday congratulations."

Qiao Nanyu's expression darkened little by little.

Of course he knew who Gu Huai'an was-a trusted confidant of the Son of Heaven and an important minister at court.

He could not possibly have come to Jinzhou to offer birthday congratulations.

Qiao Shuyi's fingers tightened sharply around her cup.

So it really was today.

She turned her eyes slightly, glancing at Zongzheng Heng beside her.

He remained seated upright, his posture composed as he brought his cup to his lips at an unhurried pace, not a ripple of emotion visible.

Gu Huai'an said, "Your Highness, will you not receive the edict?"

Qiao Nanyu's gaze grew heavy. He lifted the hem of his robe and knelt.

The assembled guests knelt as well.

"By the will of Heaven, the emperor decrees-"

"Qiao Nanyu, Prince of Jin'an, whose family has received the nation's grace for generations and who was charged with guarding the northern frontier, should have faithfully discharged his duties and served his sovereign with loyalty. Instead, he has harbored the ambitions of a wolf, secretly maintained deathsworn, privately trained elite troops, colluded with frontier generals, and plotted treachery. His crimes are three: first, privately recruiting troops and forging weapons with the intent to rebel; second, forming factions for personal gain and secretly communicating with foreign powers in a plot to carve up the realm; third, deceiving his sovereign, concealing tax revenues, and lining his own pockets. Considered together, these three crimes are beyond pardon."

"The Prince of Jin'an is hereby stripped of his title, and his property shall be confiscated. All one hundred and thirty-seven members of the Qiao household, young and old, men and women alike, shall be beheaded in the marketplace. Let this serve as a warning to others and be proclaimed throughout the realm."

Qiao Shuyi knelt prostrate on the ground, her gaze as deep and dark as a pool.

Was this power?

A single sentence decided whether people lived or died.

One roll of yellow silk, one hundred and thirty-seven lives.

Those of lowly status who knew nothing of Qiao Nanyu's rebellion-the maids, manservants, female servants, and grooms who had never concerned themselves with affairs of court-would all die with him.

Yet she felt no pity in her heart.

Only a desire for power.

She had always known that in ancient times, human lives were as worthless as grass, an ordinary state of affairs seen every day.

She had never thought of changing this era, nor could she.

All she could do was place herself higher, where no one could treat her like a blade of grass.

Zongzheng Heng knelt beside her, no more than an arm's length away.

His eyes were lowered, but he kept watching her from the corner of his eye.

Her body seemed to be trembling slightly.

Was she afraid?

Could she feel fear too?

Wasn't she unafraid of death?

What was she thinking now?