20demayo Chapter 481
Chapter 481
Upon her arrival, she was not greeted by the Emperor of Great Yan or the Empress Dowager, but by Grand Preceptor Jing and the Little Crown Prince standing on the city tower, looking down at her from above.
Both the old and the young had icy expressions, their backs straight as they stared at Empress Su from within her carriage.
Damn it!
Not only did she fail to intimidate Jiang Xinyue, but she also received a preemptive strike. The weight of the Crown Prince and the Grand Preceptor was not to be underestimated, leaving her unable to express her displeasure.
After all, the Crown Prince was the next heir to the throne, and receiving a foreign empress was already considered a gesture of respect.
But this was not what Su Yanran had wanted. What she wanted was for Jiang Xinyue to personally come out and welcome her into the palace.
"Welcome to Empress of Jin Kingdom on your visit to Great Yan. Our Emperor and Empress Jiang Xinyue have prepared a banquet in the palace for you, Your Majesty. Please, enter the palace with your entourage."(??)"
With just one sentence, Grand Preceptor Jing had positioned Jin Kingdom as a lesser state under Great Yan.
If it came to verbal sparring, Jiang Yankun would rank first, and his old man would rank second.
"Your Majesty!"
The envoys from Jin Kingdom were unhappy. They were both great powers, so why use the word "audience" for them?
Su Yanran raised her hand, stopping him from continuing: "We are here to form an alliance, not to make enemies. Such trivial matters do not require contention."
She had come to kill Jiang Xinyue, to avenge her family. As long as she could achieve that, enduring this for a while was nothing.
To enter the royal palace, the Jin Kingdom entourage could only bring four guards with them; the rest had to stay at the guesthouse.@@@@
"Wait!"
At Shenwu Gate, a guard stopped a figure wearing a black robe: "Why the sneaky appearance? It's forbidden to obscure one's face within the palace. Take off the cloak."
The Jin people always liked to play mysterious. As Empress Jiang Xinyue had said, from the moment they stepped into the Great Yan palace, they shouldn't be allowed to feel comfortable.
Making them uncomfortable was what the guards excelled at.
Su Yanran took a deep breath, signaling to the person in the black cloak. The person removed the cloak, revealing an ordinary face.
The guard remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand to allow them to pass.
What?!
What was his meaning?
He might as well have outright called them ugly, which would have shown the rudeness of the Great Yan people. His hesitation was meant to provoke what?
She's truly beautiful! No wonder the new Emperor of Jin Kingdom didn't hold a selection ceremony for her.
It was said that the imperial harem contained only Empress Su.
"Pfft!"
"I thought you found out who she resembled!"
On the elevated platform, Jiang Xinyue's gaze met with Su Yanran's, and an invisible spark seemed to ignite between them.
Jiang Xinyue was the first to chuckle: "Empress Su reminds me of an old friend I knew."
"Oh?" Su Yanran responded with a smile: "I wonder which old friend has left such a deep impression on the esteemed Empress Jiang Xinyue of Great Yan?"
Jiang Xinyue lifted her lips in a lazy smile: "Since it's an old friend, it must be someone from the past. On such a joyous occasion as the New Year's Eve banquet, let's not dwell on such ill-omened topics, shall we?"
Her indifferent attitude almost caused Su Yanran's expression to falter!
Jiang Xinyue, that vile woman, had killed her sister and destroyed the Su family. Yet, when mentioning her old friend, she acted as if it were an insignificant, unlucky matter.
How...
Infuriating!
Regrettable!
Her fingers clenched tightly under the table, but Su Yanran forced herself to maintain a smile: "The Jin Kingdom wishes to form a bond with Great Yan. Our Emperor specifically sent me to bring gifts for the Emperor of Great Yan."
She clapped her hands, and a group of elaborately dressed dancers entered, followed by the soft melody of instruments from an unknown source. Each dancer was a vision of beauty.
Their faces were breathtaking, their bodies alluring, their dance imbued with a charming aura that quickly captivated many of the less disciplined officials of Great Yan, drawing them into the allure of youthful beauty.
Suddenly, the music sped up, and a woman in a black robe, revealing a slender waist and snow-white thighs, descended from the sky. She wore bells on her wrists, their rhythmic "tinkling" adding charm to her dance.
A red cord with small bells was tied around her waist, echoing the sound of the wrist bells as her waist swayed, creating an extremely captivating effect.
The Emperor shook his head, feeling dizzy. Upon the dancer's cloak falling off, illuminated by the candlelight, it revealed Jiang Xinyue's face.
This couldn't be!
The Emperor shook his head again, thinking he must be drunk from overindulgence.
As the dancer drew closer, Jiang Xinyue closed her eyes and shook her head. In the spinning dizziness, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Could it be... encountering a predecessor in the same path?