13 Would You Like Zhen To Add More Terms?

"Young Miss, the imperial doctor is here." Qiu Ci said. Ugh. I groaned internally as I moved to the outer room to receive him. The designated imperial doctor was a tall, frail man with a white beard and an ashy complexion. He walked with the assistance of a fancy walking stick, and required the assistance of another man also dressed in the robes of the imperial medicine board.

"Imperial doctor, Guang Yin reports to Noble Concubine Ling. May Noble Concubine Ling forgive this old man for his impudence... this old man was slow..." Guang Yin spoke with a wheezy voice and looked to be moving with some difficulty, but his eyes were clear and sharp. "Not at all! Please take a seat, Guang Yin." Reflexively, I moved to grab a chair for him, and got stopped halfway by a horrified Qiu Le, who grabbed the chair for me and moved it to him instead.

"Imperial doctor Zhi Yang reports to Noble Concubine Ling. Imperial doctor Zhi Yang is the disciple of imperial doctor Guang Yin, hope Noble Concubine Ling can forgive the intrusion." said the man at the side, who had helped Guang Yin into the chair. I finally got a good look at him. Zhi Yang had a healthy complexion with average features. Despite this, he had a very calming aura. I nodded to him.

"Noble Concubine Ling, please take a seat. This old man will take your pulse." he said. "Alright." Feeling quite unable to protest against the elderly, I sat down and offered my pulse. A shaky hand matted with age spots came out of a sleeve to grasp my own wrist. "Hm... Noble Concubine Ling's symptoms are... amnesia... and sudden ability to understand tongues, is that right?" he asked, frowning.

No matter what, Ling Yue, you have to lie! No benefit will come out of anyone knowing you transmigrated... and no one will believe you either. I gave myself a mental pep talk. That's right. How were they going to prove I was an imposter? I had the same body as the previous owner. The more I thought about it, the more confident I became, and I slowly went into a trance, squeezing out the best acting I could possibly muster.

"Yes, doctor. Whenever I try to recall anything, I have a sharp headache." "Sharp headache... that is typical for people with amnesia. It has been 2 years since the incident. Still no progress?" "There isn't. But I am able to function day to day." "Adapting well... but unable to recall memories. Amnesia patients may eventually regain their memories with some catalysts... and there are also cases where they might never do so. Noble Concubine Ling should try to revisit old places and acquaintances to jog her memory." "Thank you, doc-"

"In addition, for Noble Concubine Ling's ability to understand tongues... it is very rare, but there have been documented cases where patients may develop the ability to do something they have not been able to before, such as arithmetic, drawing, hand-eye coordination, but language is a first. The catalyst is usually severe trauma. Since Noble Concubine Ling had lack of oxygen in the brain during the period she was unattended to immediately after the incident, while rare, there is no other explanation for this. Noble Concubine Ling, you are very blessed."

"It seems so." I nodded shamelessly. If he had already come up with an explanation for me, my work was already cut out. We sent them on their way with a token of our appreciation (some gold coins), and I felt more hopeful. With this, further opposition was unlikely, and I could always point to this diagnosis.

Finally, the banquet came upon us. For this banquet, I let Yan Huo be one of my attending maids on purpose. We were seated at the same place as before, on the second level of the platform and there was a vacant seat beside the Emperor, meant for the He Emperor (though Huaxia considered him a king). For this banquet, I was dressed in a white and sky blue ethereal gown with pearl and jade jewelry, that resembled a floating cloud. At my table was a special teapot, plugged with a special herb to conceal the smell.

The He king arrived grandly, with an entourage of He ministers and entourages. There were a total of 8 people, and they were flanked with both sides by Huaxia guards. Huaxia had put in a lot of effort for this banquet, since it was a neighbouring country sending its king, and decorated it lavishly. This time, the 1st rank and 2nd rank officials were even allowed to bring their families. It was clear what a grand occasion it was.

Since my brothers were stationed in the army and Ling Zhu, my eldest sister was married, only Ling Wan attended the banquet. She specially dressed herself up today and was in a very striking pink ensemble, which looked almost red. I thought it was difficult to look at since red was only reserved for the Imperial Family. It was her first-time attending a palace banquet since 5 years ago, since she had either been sick or I was still in the family, so father always brought me, child of the first wife instead.

The Emperor gave a warm welcome speech and there was a lot of fanfare and festivities. Finally, the He king took his seat beside Lu Qing Yu, and the performances began and the food started to be served. The He King looked very young, in his mid-thirties, and had a very good complexion. He was decked out in the Imperial He robes, and had a stately temperament. You wouldn't ever suspect him of being backhanded with this appearance. As the meal progressed, he would discreetly glance to the left, where Yan Huo was sitting.

Lu Qing Yu gave a small smile and began chatting. Since Huaxia and He had a long history of relations, whether good or bad, we naturally had translators and there were 2 present, who were following the conversation. The conversation was very mild and cheerful, full of honorifics and politeness. Once everyone had eaten their fill, the performances ended, and the gift exchange began.

The He brought chests and chests of fine goods, jewels, rare items and 2 Sika deer, only seen in He, as a symbol of friendship. In return, Huaxia produced many gifts of equal value. Finally, the Emperor and the He King moved to a special stage set up in front of the platform to sign the vassal state agreement. "Hold on!" Lu Qing Yu said, smiling.

"We have one last gift. How could we forget? Noble Concubine Ling, please bring it over." Lu Qing Yue turned to me. I glanced to the side. "Yan Huo, bring the chest over." I said. Yan Huo was startled. She obviously didn't anticipate it as I hadn't given her any orders prior to the banquet. I motioned to the chest next to her, which Qiu Ci had discreetly moved there earlier. The entire banquet, including the He king was watching us now. Yan Huo nodded and picked up the chest and came to me.

As I stood up to receive the chest, I pretended to have been pouring tea, and held up the teapot. Under the eyes of the entire banquet, I liberally opened the lid and flung the entire contents on Yan Huo. Yan Huo shrieked and let go of the chest, which fell to the ground. Qiu Le, who was beside me, rescued the chest by pulling it away quickly before the contents hit it.

A vile stench spread through the tables nearest to us. Yan Huo was covered head to toe in camellia flowers, soaked in pig's blood. The teapot had contained camellia flowers, the symbol of the He Camellia Throne, submerged in pig's blood for 2 days. The He king's blood ran cold when he saw this. "How can you do this!" he exclaimed angrily. The banquet watched in stunned silence. "What do you mean? She's just a maid in Huaxia. We can do what we want." Lu Qing Yu said matter of factly.

"Unless... she's someone you know?" I said in modern Japanese, turning to the king. The king gasped, taken aback. At this point, I must admit I questioned whether he understood me and if I had mistaken the characters after all. However, we were already too deep into this play and couldn't turn back now.

I turned to Yan Huo, who was still shocked. Noble Concubines Ju Hua and Shao Yi had long vacated their seats, disgusted and confused. No one wanted to be near the scene, which was looking increasingly messy by the minute. Only the 2 translators were still diligently translating, letting everyone know what we were talking about.

"Guards!" I commanded. Immediately, 2 buff guards grabbed Yan Huo, and put a sword to her neck. "No! Let me go!" Yan Huo shouted in fear. "Do you have any reason to be afraid? Yan Huo..." I asked in Chinese.

"Or should I say... Princess Eiko of He!" I hissed in Japanese.

"Papa, save me!" she screamed in He-go, giving up the act.

King Eisaki stood up. But before he could do anything, guards surrounded him by barricading him with their swords, others holding off the He guards.

I put the chest down in front of him and took out the gathered items for all to see.

"Everyone! We were here today to celebrate a joyous occasion – the collaboration of Huaxia and He! But what happened? He planted a spy in the palace, Princess Eiko, who got here through the Yan Clan! Noble Concubine Ling found documents written by King Eisaki himself saying He has plans to usurp Huaxia!" Lu Qing Yu said loudly. After the translator was done, the eunuch beside him shouted this to everyone.

A collective gasp echoed throughout the banquet, several minutes late due to the relay. Nobody who was attending had expected to see such a ridiculous show. I picked up the folded up note, covered in camellia flowers... the symbol of He's Camellia Throne, and read it loudly to everyone. Needless to say, it didn't end well. To ensure Yan Huo's safe release, the He king had no choice but to sign the vassal state agreement.

King Eisaki picked up the pen, but Lu Qing Yu stopped him. "Hold on." he said. He replaced the agreement with a new one. "Vassal state unconditionally for 100 years..., after that, we can renegotiate a new agreement." Lu Qing Yu said flatly. The terms of this one was much more unfavorable toward He. However, He had no choice. The sound of squeaky wheels on polished tiles and then expensive rugs came from the left as 10 soldiers wheeled in a flare cannon. With a few moves, the flare cannon pointed to the sky, ready to fire.

"What's that?" King Eisaki asked, not wanting to know the answer. "That's a flare cannon. Upon firing it, the armies and navy in the East will invade into He." Lu Qing Yu said calmly. "Why??" King Eisaki asked in despair, his face grostesque.

"Do you honestly think plotting to usurp the Huaxia throne will go well? Would you like zhen to add more terms?" he threatened.

I glanced at the crowd. The entire banquet waited with bated breath. Eyes were wide open, jaws were slack, and spoonfuls of soup hovered in mid bite. Time had stopped.

"Will you withdraw your troops and let go of my daughter if I sign this?" he asked.

"Sure." said Lu Qing Yu, acting all benevolent now that he got what he wanted.

King Eisaki hesitated, his hand shaking as he slouched over the historic document. Then he looked at Yan Huo, or Princess Eiko, still at swordpoint. Ink stained the paper black as King Eisaki signed it, then threw the brush on the table.

"It's done. Release her and put down the cannon."

King Eisaki heaved a long sigh and sat back down, slumped in his seat. The grand gleaming gold throne, with its array of fresh as well as gold artisan crafted camellias looked more like a mockery now.

"Papa!"

As soon as the guards let go, Princess Eiko stumbled forward and ran up the platform, placing her hand on King Eisaki's arm. Face swollen from tears, she looked a mess. Upon seeing his crestfallen figure, she started to sob hopelessly again.

King Eisaki didn't stop her.

They had already disgraced themselves enough, and nothing would be able to wipe the shame away.

After this turn, Eunuch Song Chu announced that the banquet had to be concluded early and apologised. The He King obviously wasn't given his promised tour of the Huaxia empire as promised, and got a few more threats to keep him in check, but he was sent home with the customary gifts.

In the meantime, Huaxia stationed more permanent troops at the border.