AEOGA CH78

The fifteenth of the first lunar month, the Shangyuan Lantern Festival.

The envoy delegation from Xifeng had long since arrived in Yujing, resting at the official hostel. By custom, they had to wait until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth before entering the imperial palace for an audience. Helian Xi was burning with impatience to see his elder sister, but bound by protocol, he could only endure and wait for their gathering at Qiankun Palace.

Qiankun Palace served as the dedicated venue for receiving foreign guests. Hosting a banquet here served a dual purpose: first, to celebrate the Lantern Festival reunion; second, to entertain the visiting diplomats.

Inside the hall, songs and dances filled the air amidst a lavish feast of fine wines and exquisite delicacies. The imperial consorts gathered together, raising their glasses in merry conversation.

Hua Yan asked with curiosity: “I wonder what women look like? Having grown up this big, I’ve never seen a woman before.”

Changli was a male nation. Unless one traveled abroad, one would never see a woman in an entire lifetime—and most people never had the chance to travel abroad to broaden their horizons.

Aside from Xie Chongjin and Lu Xuechao, who had visited Xifeng for diplomatic reasons during their time in the Eastern Palace—back when relations between the two nations were not yet strained and trade was active—and Qin Yulong, who had fought on the battlefield against Xifeng, and Helian Xi, who was born and raised in Xifeng, no one else present had ever seen a woman before.

Now that they were about to meet one, it was impossible not to find it novel.

Qin Yulong remarked: “Aren’t they all the same? Two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth—it’s not as if she has an extra eye compared to a man.”

When he first stepped onto the battlefield, the female soldiers of Xifeng he saw were all tall, imposing, and heroic, no different from Changli’s warriors. It was only when he met Helian Xi disguised as a female general that he realized women could also be soft and beautiful—though that turned out to be a man after all.

The men of Yelang always appraised them like this: The women of Xifeng lack feminine charm, far inferior to our Yelang women who are soft, delicate, beautiful, and sweet-voiced. The women of Leyang aren’t bad either; if we can conquer Leyang, having those pairs of lesbian lovers attend to us together in bed and enjoying the bliss of multiple partners would be a magnificent pleasure in life.

All in all, Yelang men preferred delicate, weak women, whereas Xifeng produced formidable strong women who could knock a man down, which ran counter to their male chauvinism and displeased them greatly.

Naturally, Xifeng women looked down on Yelang men just as much: A bunch of disgusting, foul men—how could they compare to our fragrant Xifeng men?

The social systems of the two nations guaranteed that they could never reconcile in this lifetime.

The enemy of an enemy was a friend. Changli and Xifeng originally had good relations; had the Empress Regnant of Xifeng not started that war out of suspicion and internal power struggles, relations between the two nations would not have deteriorated so drastically to today’s state.

Fortunately, that war was small in scale—at least compared to the trouble Yelang caused, it was mere child’s play. Though grudges were formed, it had not reached the point of deadly enmity.

With Helian Xi having married over and successfully embedded himself on the inside, and the envoy this time being his elder sister, the crowd harbored little hostility and was mostly filled with curiosity.

Yun Luo called out in a clear voice: “Announcing the audience of the Xifeng envoy!”

Everyone turned toward the entrance, craning their necks in anticipation.

During this period, they had all asked Helian Xi about Helian Yu and knew of her heroic feats.

Taking the enemy commander’s head single-handedly at seventeen… she was truly an extraordinary woman.

In the two years after obtaining military command, she had also put down over a dozen internal and external troubles for Xifeng, gaining immense prestige among its populace.

So high that even her own mother wanted her dead.

She was nineteen this year, similar in age to the rest of them. In their imagination, she ought to be a valiant, tall, imposing, and fiercely intimidating woman.

Perhaps she would even have a scar across her face to prove her lifetime of military merit.

Yet the moment the Xifeng envoy stepped into the hall, everyone’s assumptions were completely overturned.

The Xifeng delegation was a full team, so Helian Yu was naturally not alone. But the instant she walked in, everyone spotted her immediately, their eyes drawn to her.

She was indeed tall and slender, but by no means hulking or muscular.

Helian Yu wore a fiery red dress, her long hair braided into countless small plaits cascading down past her waist, adorned with snow-white pom-poms between the braids, while her dangling gold earrings chimed pleasantly. Her face shared a seventy percent resemblance with Helian Xi’s, captivatingly beautiful.

A snake whip was coiled around her waist, intertwined with a luxurious gold belt.

Every gesture exuded charm, with a slender waist, long legs, and an exquisite figure. Had a Yelang man been present, he would likely be dazed with enchantment—never having seen a woman with more feminine charm, completely shattering their stereotypical impression of Xifeng women.

However, the sexual orientation of Changli’s people did not incline toward women, so their reactions were purely ones of stunning appreciation.

Accustomed as they were to the peerless beauty of the Emperor and Empress every day, they didn’t lose their composure too badly.

It was just slightly surprising that such a gorgeous woman appeared like a cherished treasure who had never been touched by a single drop of blood.

Yet she was a general who killed without blinking.

Thus, this beauty was laced with danger—like a beautiful viper lurking in the dark, ready at any moment to coil around one’s neck and sink its venomous fangs into a vital spot.

Stepping into the hall, Helian Yu bowed slightly, performing a Xifeng salutation with composed dignity: “Helian Yu, Seventh Imperial Princess of Xifeng, pays respects to the Emperor and Empress of Changli.”

Her voice was distinctly different from a man’s—soft yet resonant, every bit that of a mature woman.

Hua Yan’s appreciation for fine looks and voices flared up simultaneously; unable to express it openly given the occasion, he merely gripped Fu Xinian’s hand beneath the table, silently thrilled.

—So that’s what a woman’s voice sounds like! It sounds so nice!

Are women all such beautiful creatures? He felt that not seeing a woman in the first seventeen years of his life was truly a great loss, missing out on so much beauty.

The last time he had been this excited was when he saw Lu Xuechao’s face in full and heard him speak at Chongxue Palace.

Helian Yu might not match Lu Xuechao’s matchless grace, but she was a woman!

Having never seen one before, discovering a whole new kind of beauty made him immensely excited.

Fu Xinian felt helpless. He wasn’t bad-looking himself, but these people were each more gorgeous than the last. Hua Yan’s habit of falling for every attractive face he saw left Fu Xinian unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Xie Chongjin said: “You may rise.”

Helian Yu raised her eyes to look at the imperial couple seated side by side at the head of the hall. Her gaze was drawn first to the Empress, and only secondarily fell upon Xie Chongjin.

Xie Chongjin was handsome, representing the peak of mortal appearance, but Lu Xuechao… was on a divine level.

It was primarily his aura—that ethereal, aloof coldness that felt entirely out of place in the mundane world.

This Emperor looks quite handsome; my little brother isn’t losing out too much, Helian Yu observed after a moment’s scrutiny.

Changli and Leyang only had men and women respectively; influenced by the properties of the pregnancy pills, the sexual orientation of their descendants naturally aligned only toward men and women—meaning the entire population was homosexual without exception.

However, Xifeng’s population was not exclusively heterosexual; while the majority were, a small portion was not. Some Xifeng women liked women, such as the Fifth Imperial Princess. Some Xifeng men liked men, such as her brother.

Yet although Xifeng lacked no homosexuals, same-sex marriage was not permitted.

Her brother had shown no interest in women since youth and refused to marry one, preferring to grow old alone. Noticing this, Helian Yu had asked Helian Xi in private: “Tell sister the truth, do you like men?”

Helian Xi had blushed for a moment before nodding in admission.

Ever since his youth, whenever he had those embarrassing dreams, the other person was never a woman, but rather a muscular, strong man… so he knew his orientation differed from ordinary people. But in reality, Xifeng men were all frail and delicate, and even in bed they were the ones on the bottom. He could only be brothers with them and couldn’t like them romantically at all.

For the sake of her brother’s happiness, Helian Yu had indeed considered simply letting him marry off to Changli; as long as he could be with someone he liked, what did gender matter?

She just hadn’t expected that he did marry off, but to the Emperor of Changli.

Having grown up amid brutal imperial court struggles, Helian Yu had seen how fierce harem infighting could be and did not want Helian Xi to repeat those mistakes. He could marry anyone except an emperor—an emperor could never be a good partner, nor could he dedicate his heart solely to her brother.

Unfortunately, she no longer held real power and could not protect him.

Now seeing that Changli’s Emperor was a rare beauty, Helian Yu felt slightly comforted. At least her brother had married a young and handsome ruler. The Fifth Imperial Princess was far more tragic; when she was married off to Leyang at fifteen, the Empress Regnant of Leyang was already fifty—older than their Imperial Mother—so one couldn’t blame the Fifth Princess for having an affair.

If it were her, she would have cheated too.

The Emperor’s looks satisfied her, but the Empress’s appearance…

Helian Yu swept her gaze around discreetly, letting her eyes linger briefly on Helian Xi before sweeping past nonchalantly.

Changli’s imperial harem had fewer consorts than Xifeng’s, but each was extraordinary. Her Imperial Mother was lustful, and her harem was packed with handsome men, yet the overall quality couldn’t compare to Changli’s consorts—it was truly a matter of quality over quantity.

Especially this Empress… adding up all the handsome men in Xifeng’s harem couldn’t compare to a single strand of his hair.

Her brother was born handsome, yet in this harem, he didn’t stand out at all.

With such a beautiful Empress present, could her brother truly win the Emperor’s favor?

If I had such a beauty, I’d favor him exclusively too—where would I find room to care about my brother?

Helian Yu suddenly felt anxious for her brother.

In Xifeng, without the ruler’s favor, one lived worse than a dog.

She felt deep concern for Helian Xi’s situation.

While her thoughts raced through countless twists and turns, in reality, only a fleeting moment had passed.

Xie Chongjin said: “The Seventh Imperial Princess has traveled far to arrive here; I offer my warmest welcome. Bestow a seat.”

“My thanks to Your Majesty.” Helian Yu walked toward the envoys’ seats but did not sit down immediately, saying, “Our nation signed a peace agreement with yours; Helian Yu comes to Changli bringing Xifeng’s tribute for this year to present to Your Majesty.”

With a gesture from her, the Xifeng envoys presented the tributes to be inventoried and announced by the ceremonial official:

“Ten thousand taels of gold!”

“Twenty boxes of silver!”

“One luminous pearl!”

“One hundred bolts of Cloud-Woven Shimmering Silk!”

“One pair of Jade Ruyi!”

“Five boxes of grapes!”

“Grapes?” Lin Chanzhi grew excited, “That fruit only exists in Xifeng; I’ve never tasted it before.”

Xifeng possessed a prosperous economy, rich in jade, precious stones, and fruits; giving gold and jewels didn’t hurt its pocket, and it was also the earliest nation to cultivate grapes—though production was low, and even in Xifeng only the royal family and nobility could afford them, while the rest were exported for trade, now becoming tribute.

Although Xifeng was an enemy of Yelang, it still had to trade with it, exchanging gold, silver, and fruits for Yelang’s advanced weapons—though Yelang naturally wouldn’t supply its most advanced ones, as everyone was shrewd. Yelang also needed to import various goods from other nations, since aside from military power, its agriculture and economy were a complete mess, requiring war to plunder resources.

Wang Yiming whispered: “Once you’ve tasted them, Changli will have them in the future too.”

Who was Lin Chanzhi? An absolute farming fanatic; if he got his hands on grape seeds, would there be any worry about Changli lacking them in the future?

Xie Chongjin listened to the long tribute list and had them put away, offering no special reaction. These were tributes, not gifts—won by Changli through victory—so there was no need to express thanks.

Had Changli been defeated back then, it would be them paying tribute to Xifeng today.

After finishing official business, Helian Yu finally took her seat and looked toward Helian Xi.

“It has been nearly a year since we parted; sister has missed A-Jiu dearly.”