Chapter 44 – The Intention of the Emperor

"All rise."

The Emperor, Yin Long commanded as he sat on the Silver Throne, with three beautifully crafted silver hawk perched on top of the throne, overlooking the grand hall. It was believed that the Silver Eagles each signified Purity, Honour and Loyalty. The Empress, who was seated next to the throne raised her chin slightly as she surveyed the nobles and servants seated below her carefully. Her quiet gaze unknowingly fell upon Zheng Qing Yao, before she averted her eyes immediately. Hurt flashed past her eyes as she downed a cup of wine.

Zheng Qing Yao sighed quietly to himself. He knew, Zheng Huo Yan must still be feeling bitter over the incident in the Silver Sky Manor, especially now that Gu Sheng had returned. Since that 'eventful' day, the siblings had not sat down together to talk things out. He thought he could take the opportunity to reason with her after his visit to the Lady Fang's courtyard. Who would have guessed that he would be turned away from the Empress Palace before he even had to chance to talk to her?

The grand hall was filled with silent anticipation when everyone had taken their seat. All eyes were on the Emperor, who was dressed in a dark yellow robe, with hawks embroidered on it with silver threads. Despite being in his early forties, and older than Yin He by twelve years, he was still in the prime of his age. Tall and handsome, he was at the centre of the attention when he spoke with a slight smile on his face.

"It has been a while since the palace was so lively. The banquet today is a well deserve celebration for everyone, so there is no need for too much formality. Just take it easy and have a great time."

As soon as he concluded his speech, the eunuch standing next to him quickly signalled for the banquet to begin. Melodious music began to fill the air as a group of dainty dancers sashayed into the hall. Their movement were fluid and graceful, and each of them were as enchanting as flowers. The audience could not help but be immersed by their mesmerizing performance.

There was a particular one dancer who was extremely eye catching as she was positioned in the middle of the group. All the dancers surrounding her was dressed in light yellow and turquoise colour dresses, but she was the only one dressed in a pink silk dress and had a veil covering her face.

Yin He tilted his head lazily as he watched the performance with a cup of wine in his hand. Initially he seemed to be more interested in the wine than the show in front of him, but when he saw the pink dress dancer, the corner of his lips slowly lifted into an ambiguous smile. Then he casually glanced over at the person who was seated opposite of him to see if the other person was enjoying the show but noticed that he was not paying attention toward the performance. Jing Yun Sheng seemed distracted as his eyes wandered around the hall, but very quickly, he noticed Yin He was looking over at him. When he met his gaze, Yin He raised his eyebrows at him questioningly. Jing Yun Sheng only smiled back politely before turning his attention back to the performance.

It was not long before the performance finally ended, and the audience in the hall began clapping with excitement. It had been a while since they had seen such a magnificent performance, and it was undeniable that the dancers recruited for this show were all very talented. It was visible that everyone had been putting great efforts into preparing for the performance today. The Emperor was extremely satisfied as he joined in to clap and commented, "What a beautiful performance!"

When the dancers had all retreated from the hall, everyone once again looked expectantly at The Emperor who seemed to be in very good mood.

"Since everyone is here, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few things. Today we are here to celebrate the end of the war, and also the unity of two kingdoms. From now on, the people of the Yin and Mo will be a family, so I hope everyone will get along well." The Emperor announced as he turned to look at the subjects sitting below him.

Yin He lowered his gaze as he quietly took a sip of wine. Naturally he knew why The Emperor would say such thing. It was because from the beginning when the Jing clan wanted to defect to Yin Empire, many of the ministers were absolutely against the plan to help them. However, the Emperor was adamant in his decision and refused to listen to the ministers advises and pleas. This had resulted in many internal conflicts, and without many choices, they had to recruit mercenaries for the mission.

After the Jing clan had successfully escaped and moved to the Yin Empire, Jing Yun Sheng began to get involved actively with the war planning and strategizing. Even more complaints were raised during that time. Every day The Emperor would receive countless of reports pleading him to remove Jing Yun Sheng's involvement from the court affair. Many of them were not satisfied with Jing Yun Sheng because they saw him as a threat and an outsider. If he could betray his own birth country, the very country he swore to protect when he took the over the position as the prime minister – who could guarantee that he would not do the same to them?

As a result, The Emperor could not officially appoint Jing Yun Sheng as a minister in the Yin country.

However, now that they had achieved victory and conquered Mo Empire, the Emperor wanted to use this opportunity to let those who were opposing him to know that they no longer have valid reasons to oppose his intention to use Jing Yun Sheng in the royal court. His intention was clearly conveyed when he mentioned that they were all family now.

The Emperor turned to Jing Yun Sheng and continued, "The Jing clan has contributed greatly. I must reward you heavily."

Jing Yun Sheng was about to stand up to reject the gift, when The Emperor cut him off quickly, "I know the Jing clan is currently residing at the outskirt of the city. It was too inconvenient for you. I shall bestow you the residence of the Silver Moon Mansion. From now on, your entire clan should move in to stay in the capital city."

Everyone in the hall was visibly shaken by this unexpected bestowment. There were quiet murmurings in the background while some ministers shoot furtive glances around. Unhappy and hostile look could be seen on some faces. Even the Empress face had turned an ugly shade of purple.

Yin He took in everyone's reaction quietly as he leaned back in his seat while Jing Yun Sheng looked slightly taken aback. In the capital city, not every residence could be bestowed with the tittle of 'Silver' as it signified the highest honour in the Yin Empire. Currently there were only a few residences given such honour, like Silver Sky Mansion which was the residence of the Zheng clan and Silver Cloud Mansion which was the residence of Prince Yin He.

For Silver Moon Mansion, it was actually the old residence of The Emperor when he was still a crown prince. It had been vacated for a long time since Yin Long ascended to the throne and moved into the Imperial Palace, but the residence had always been properly maintained. Many people thought The Emperor would bestow it to the crown prince when he came of age, but to actually bestow it to an outsider like Jing Yun Sheng was truly beyond their expectation. This was The Emperor's way to indirectly announce to the world that Jing Yun Sheng would be his people in the future.

Since The Emperor had already announced it publicly, Jing Yun Sheng had no choice but to accept the gift. However, he knew this was not a bestowment but more of a method to keep an eye on him and the entire clan in the Yin Capital.

Other than the residence, The Emperor had also bestowed plenty of golds, silvers, silks, jewelleries and servants to him. The murmuring in the hall got even louder.

Jing Yun Sheng stood up and bowed to The Emperor as he expressed his gratitude calmly. Deep in his heart, he had already expected The Emperor to make a move, but this was certainly too unpredictable. The bestowment of the Silver Moon Residence which was expected to be given to the crown prince was now given to him, it had certainly helped him to nett more enemies and put him under the spotlight. In the future, his movement will be more difficult since he would be in the center of attention and constantly monitored.

Naturally he knew many people were against him due to his controversial history and background, hence he had chosen to lay low and stayed at the outskirt of the city. Now, it looked like he had to expedite the search for Mo Xing Yu, before things get much more complicated.

Just as Jing Yun Sheng sat down, the Empress who had recovered her composure suddenly said, "Well, since today is a joyous occasion, I have also arranged another special performance for everyone."

The Emperor lifted his brows and asked curiously, "Oh? Another special performance?"

The Empress smiled charmingly as she replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I believe you will be extremely pleased with this performance as well."

As soon as she finished her words, she glanced over at Jing Yun Sheng who seemed to have become aware of her attention on him as well. Jing Yun Sheng realized the surprise for tonight had not ended yet when he heard a familiar string of melodious music. When he turned to look at the entrance, he saw a scarlet red silhouette walking slowly into the hall.