Chapter 5
Chapter 5
That evening, I wore a veil as I performed a dance for the envoys from Southern Tang.
Throughout the banquet, the officials of Northern Liang each held a Tribute Maiden from Southern Tang in their arms, eating grapes peeled by delicate jade-like hands and drinking fine wine fed to them by the girls.
The envoys from Southern Tang were also smiling, looking as though they were enjoying themselves so much they had forgotten their own home.
When the dance ended, Tuoba Lu summoned me over.
He made me crouch beside him along with the dog he kept, occasionally teasing the dog and then stroking my hair.
“The Crown Prince’s Wolfhound is truly well-raised,” a drunken Southern Tang envoy said with a smile.
Tuoba Lu chuckled. “Your Southern Tang Meiren are also quite good. As expected, a land with such fertile soil and water produces fine people.”
The envoys were delighted by the praise. Midst the clinking of glasses and the flowing wine, they seemed utterly lost in the pleasure of the moment.
I lay quietly on the ground, motionless.
“Crown Prince, your appearance truly resembles a certain young general of our Southern Tang. If it weren’t for the fact that he is already dead, this humble official would have thought you were him,” another envoy remarked.
Tuoba Lu’s hand, which had been stroking my hair, came to a stop. “Oh? Which young general?”
“Pei Chenglu, the younger son of Pei Feng.”
Tuoba Lu nodded. “Ah, him. This Prince remembers that the Pei Family was executed by your Emperor on charges of collusion with the enemy and high treason, correct?”
“It… it was… no, it wasn’t…” the Southern Tang envoy stammered.
Tuoba Lu pulled me into his arms. Taking the hint, I held up a cup of wine to feed him.
I tried my best to keep my hands from trembling, but a few drops still spilled.
He gave me a faint glance but said nothing.
After he drank the wine, he beckoned to the envoys. “My lords, this Prince shall tell you a secret.”
“What secret?” The envoys were filled with curiosity.
The corners of his mouth curled up into a casual smirk. “The Pei Family never had any contact with my Northern Liang. That was merely a piece of false information this Prince leaked. I didn’t expect your Emperor to actually take it as truth.”
The Southern Tang envoys fell silent instantly, then quickly forced a laugh. “The Crown Prince must be joking. The Pei Family clearly colluded with the enemy… no, what this humble official means is that the Pei Family was wicked at heart. Your Highness need not make excuses for them.”
The envoy offered a clumsy explanation.
Tuoba Lu looked at them with mockery in his eyes. “This Prince is not joking. Your Emperor would rather send a million silver and these flower-like Meiren than trust a loyal general.”
The officials of Northern Liang also laughed wantonly. Some even began to strip the clothes off the Tribute Maidens in public.
Tuoba Lu continued, “For the next annual tribute, Northern Liang wants two million silver, three hundred thousand bolts of silk, and ten thousand young maidens.”
“This… how can we possibly gather so much? Could Your Highness be a bit more lenient?” The envoys’ faces turned pale.
“If it is short by even a single item, this Prince will raze Southern Tang to the ground,” Tuoba Lu said, leaving no room for negotiation.
The envoys repeatedly offered apologetic smiles, not daring to offend him.
One of them was staring at me. I recognized him-he was a student of my father’s named Qi Wen, and he was also one of the officials who had supervised the execution of my Lin Family.
Although I was wearing a veil, I was still afraid of being recognized, so I feigned shyness and buried my face in Tuoba Lu’s chest.
Tuoba Lu noticed and asked Qi Wen coldly, “What are you looking at?”
Qi Wen replied, “This humble official was thinking that for this woman to receive Your Highness’s favor, it must be a blessing she earned in her past life.”
Tuoba Lu’s hand rested suggestively on my waist. “On the bed, she is quite interesting. I hope the Tribute Maidens sent next time will be just as sensible.”
Qi Wen smiled and retreated, and I escaped a close call.
Tuoba Lu then carried me behind the hall, separated from those foreign envoys by only a beaded curtain.
I knew what he wanted to do.
He wanted to humiliate me in front of the Southern Tang envoys.
Just as Northern Liang was humiliating Southern Tang.
I instinctively grabbed the beaded curtain, not wanting to be treated this way.
The officials of Northern Liang were laughing, the Southern Tang envoys were fawning, and the Tribute Maidens were submissively yielding. Decadent sounds enveloped the palace in the northern frontier.
No one came to help me.