After the Alluring Beauty Was Forced into a Political Marriage - Chapter 25

The Great King had returned in triumph, and his return to the Chanyu’s court naturally called for a grand celebration.

Originally, on the day Shiqin Bari first returned, he had ordered the preparation of wine and meat for a feast. He intended to drink heavily with the generals of the grasslands around a bonfire once darkness fell. However, the incident involving the Khatun occurred, and the celebratory banquet was pushed aside.

As the Khatun’s health showed no sign of improvement, Shiqin Bari had no heart for festivities. The date of the banquet was postponed again and again until it seemed it might never happen.

But just as the servants in charge of the feast thought the event would be abandoned, the King brought it up again.

“Let it be tonight,” Shiqin Bari declared.

This was the first celebratory banquet since the King’s ascension, and it could not be neglected. Its scale was comparable to the day of the Chanyu’s grand wedding. The kings of various tribes brought their wives and concubines to pay homage to the Chanyu and demonstrate their loyalty.

The twenty-four high officials who followed the Chanyu on his campaign, along with the great hero of the recent battle, King Chagan of the Karachin tribe, sat around the Chanyu and Princess Su Rina. The remaining nobles sat in formal, upright positions.

Though it was a celebratory banquet, Shiqin Bari’s expression was far from pleasant. His face was somber, and he rarely lifted his head during the meal. After the music and dancing concluded, he suddenly set down his wine cup. The bronze struck the table with a dull thud, causing everyone to look up.

Shiqin Bari’s gaze slowly swept across everyone present. He straightened his back and announced loudly, “The rebel Zhana is dead!”

Zhana was the tribal king who had incited the rebellion. The Chanyu continued, “I personally severed his head to secure the peace of the grasslands. As for you, do you truly respect me?”

Having witnessed the Chanyu’s thunderous methods, the nobles scrambled to profess their loyalty. Shiqin Bari listened to their hollow words without expression before raising a hand to silence them.

“I think not,” he asserted.

“If you were truly loyal, how would you dare to bully my Khatun!”

Su Rina, who was kneeling beside Shiqin Bari, suddenly changed expression. She could not help but snap, “Chanyu!”

“Hmph,” Shiqin Bari merely gave her a cool glance and continued of his own accord. “You certainly are bold, daring to stand by and watch my Khatun suffer a whipping!”

This was a blatant slap to Su Rina’s face. Su Rina gritted her teeth and shot a look at a noble sitting at a nearby wooden table. That noble explained tremulously, “Great King, at the time, there was a reason. It was against the rules for the Khatun to communicate with his former country.”

“He is my Khatun. Does he need your permission for anything he wishes to do?” Shiqin Bari raised an eyebrow. “Defying him is defying me. As for the consequences of defying me,” he paused briefly, then pulled a large ox hide bag from beneath his feet and swung it onto the table before him. With a loud crash, the wine cups on the table were knocked over. But what was even more shocking and blood curdling were the objects that came rolling out of the bag.

Three heads.

The heads of the three rebel kings.

“Those who oppose me shall be executed without mercy.”

Having said this, he turned and left. Su Rina sat by the wooden table, her teeth clenched. This was exactly why she had insisted that Lianzhi personally admit to being a spy. This brother of hers, who knew what other madness he might commit for that male fox spirit in the future!

But Shiqin Bari had acted so decisively that no matter how displeased Su Rina was, she could only swallow her anger.

“That is how it happened,” Saren said to Lianzhi with a blink. “I truly did not expect the Great King to say such things.”

Lianzhi stood dazed. Saren’s words brought him a sudden moment of clarity. No wonder someone as proud as Su Rina was willing to lower her head and show him kindness. It turned out there was such a reason behind it.

If Saren had not come over today, he would likely have been kept in the dark forever. Would Shiqin Bari actually do such a thing for him?

Lianzhi could not help but recall those stinging words and the look of disgust the little barbarian often directed at him. He found it difficult to link such an act to that man.

Yet the facts were laid out plainly before him, along with that wolf tooth necklace.

The wolf tooth necklace no longer seemed as loathsome as before. Lianzhi did not even know when Saren had left; he stared at the wolf tooth for a long time, a strange feeling of suffocating tightness suddenly rising in his chest.

Lianzhi remained silent for a while before finally taking the necklace and tying it around his neck. He hesitantly stepped out of the King’s tent. The sky had darkened, and his feet made a rustling sound on the grass.

Lianzhi did not know where Shiqin Bari had gone, so he wandered aimlessly along the edge of the grassland. Fortunately, he encountered a tall man halfway. Lianzhi recognized him as Shiqin Bari’s loyal subordinate and called out happily, “Hey!”

The man paused and turned around, his face half hidden in the darkness. “Xurigan pays respects to the Khatun.”

“Where is the Great King?” Lianzhi asked.

“I will take the Khatun there immediately,” Xurigan replied respectfully.

Xurigan led him to a felt tent. Feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation, Lianzhi hesitated outside the curtain for a moment before entering. The youth inside looked up at the sound. Seeing Lianzhi, his eyes widened slightly, but he quickly turned his head away.

With one hand supporting his face, he used the other to pluck the feathers of a golden eagle before him. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, not a single word came out.

Lianzhi tentatively sat down beside him and whispered, “Thank you.”

Only then did Shiqin Bari stop his movements and turn his body toward Lianzhi. However, he still kept his chin tilted up in a very arrogant manner. “Thanking me for what?”

“For this,” Lianzhi pulled out the wolf tooth hanging from his neck to show him. “And also, thank you for venting your anger for me and speaking up on my behalf in front of so many people.”

“Saren came to see you?”

Lianzhi nodded slightly.

Shiqin Bari frowned deeply, appearing quite displeased. “She is so meddlesome! I told her to mind her own business!”

“Fine. Who told you to be so useless that you have to rely on me for everything?” Shiqin Bari gave an arrogant snort. “I was merely using you as an example to teach them a lesson. Do not flatter yourself!”

“And also, there was no cow dung in that medicine,” Shiqin Bari said, turning his head slightly and sounding a bit stiff. “It was only bezoar.”

Lianzhi gazed at his sharp profile. The gentle candlelight flowed over him like water, silently peeling away his cold outer shell. Lianzhi seemed to see a hint of the tenderness Shiqin Bari hid beneath his arrogance.

He let out a small laugh, suddenly no longer angry about being forced to drink the medicine. For the first time, Lianzhi sat before him with a peaceful mind, without quietly cursing him in his heart. He said softly, “I understand.”

The corners of Shiqin Bari’s mouth seemed to curl upward for an instant before he quickly suppressed it. He moved a little closer to Lianzhi in silence, cleared his throat, and said somewhat unnaturally, “You,” he paused, “If you want to write letters in the future, just tell me. I will find someone to deliver them to Great Zhou for you.”

Shiqin Bari did not know that a cousin, with whom Lianzhi had a lifelong commitment, was hidden in the Zhou Palace. He had only seen a family letter between Lianzhi and Princess Huayang, so he assumed Lianzhi only communicated with his aunt. It was just a few private words with an aunt, so what did it matter?

This immense piece of good news struck Lianzhi suddenly, leaving his head spinning. His heart leapt, and his voice trembled. “What did you say? What did you say?”

“I said,” Shiqin Bari drew out his words, “if you want to communicate, then,” he was interrupted.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Lianzhi was overcome with joy, his heart leaping like a rabbit. He actually leaned over and gave Shiqin Bari a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you!”

Shiqin Bari was stunned. When Lianzhi’s soft lips touched his cheek, he felt his whole body heat up. His ears turned burning red, his mind went blank, and he could barely speak clearly. “You, you,” he stammered.

Lianzhi looked up at him, his pupils clear and bright. “What about me?”

Shiqin Bari’s heart felt as if it were about to leap out of his chest under that gaze. He pinched Shen Lianzhi’s cheeks, brought his lips close, and gave his cheek a fierce bite. “Shen Lianzhi, I am telling you!”

“You had better stay by my side forever and be my Khatun. If you dare,” he trailed off.

If he dared what? Shiqin Bari did not know. But he knew in his heart that he wanted Shen Lianzhi to stay by his side with total devotion. If Shen Lianzhi developed any other thoughts, then he would surely do something that would even frighten himself!

Their lips met, and Shiqin Bari rose to press Lianzhi down onto the wooden table. He held the back of Lianzhi’s head with one hand, kissing him with abandon and passion.

They had never had such a kiss before; usually, they only had brief tastes before rushing into cruder acts.

Shiqin Bari seemed to have been drinking, and his breath carried the bitter, spicy taste of wine. Lianzhi was not used to the local wine, so he raised his hand to push him. “It is spicy.”

Shiqin Bari supported himself with both hands on either side of Lianzhi, looking down at him. His thick eyelashes lowered, but they could not hide the longing in his eyes. He curled his lips. “You are not used to it?”

Although it was a question, he did not truly expect an answer. Shiqin Bari reached out to grab a wine vessel nearby and pressed it against Lianzhi’s slightly parted lips. “Do not be afraid. Taste it.”

With a turn of his wrist, the wine spilled out. Lianzhi hurried to close his mouth, but the wine still flowed down, dripping from the corners of his mouth to his neck.

Shiqin Bari tossed the wine cup aside. His burning kisses traveled from Lianzhi’s neck all the way to his lips. He licked away the wine from the corners of his mouth, pried open Lianzhi’s tightly closed teeth, and pushed his tongue inside. “You will get used to the taste.”

“The wine of the grasslands is the strongest. At first, it only tastes bitter and spicy, but only after drinking a lot do you realize it warms the body and makes the heart burn. Only the strong wine of the grasslands has this power. No matter how precious a wine is in this world, it cannot compare.”

“Drink it. Get used to it.”

The world swayed.

In his muddled state, Lianzhi only felt his body burning. He could not tell if the heat came from the wine, from the joy of being able to communicate with his cousin, or from Shiqin Bari’s fiery embrace.

The little barbarian was like a fire, standing before him with aggressive momentum. The bright red, flickering flames confused his eyes, making him unable to see his own heart or the long road ahead.

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